Paper Moon
by BlueishWanderer
Summary: Set two months after the anime's ending. When the Book of Eibon was taken from under the DWMA's nose, there is only one weapon/meister group able to retrieve it. Slight to major OOC. My OC's involved. Rated T 'cause language. I don't own Soul Eater. Summary sucks by the way.
1. Prologue

Lord Death was in the Death Room, watching his mirror. Eibon walked in with a sigh. "Lord Death?"

Lord Death turned to see Eibon. Eibon was slightly jittery and really didn't want to tell Lord Death what had happened... but he believed his friend had a right to know.

Lord Death turned to the sorcerer. "Yes, Eibon."

Eibon walked forward so that they were in front of each other. "The Book of Eibon has been taken." he said bluntly.

Lord Death was shocked silent. The Book of Eibon... had been taken... under Eibon's nose. How is that possible? Who could've done it?

Eibon knew exactly what his friend was thinking by years of knowing him. He sighed. "Well, it's obvious that we have to get it back."

Lord Death nodded in agreement. "You have to find it, Eibon."

Eibon sighed once more. "No. I can't leave... but there is one person other than me who can."

Lord Death cocked his head. "Really?"

Eibon nodded. "This generation's protector of the book. The Turtle Swan witch."

Lord Death finally understood. Eibon was going to send the descendant of his sister, Annaka, who was the Turtle Swan witch 800 years ago. But the problem was who was it now? Eibon nodded. "I know you're wondering who it is and you're lucky. I know who it is. I was counting the population of witches and their powers. I found her. A girl by the name of Neolani Delgato, age 14. I looked at her and it's obvious its her."

Lord Death would've raised an eyebrow if he could. "How?"

Eibon turned to the mirror. "Search her. You'll see instantly."

Lord Death did so and watched as the mirror rippled. It revealed a living room, dark from the only source of light being from outside the room and the TV. There were three people, teenagers, who were playing video games. Two were boys, almost identical. They had red hair, hazel eyes, lightly tanned skin, freckles and lean bodies. One wore a cowboy hat, the other didn't. They just sitting down seemed to tower over the last one. Lord Death gasped in surprise. The last figure was a girl... and a very familiar one at that. She was standing on her feet. "Take that, motherf***er!" she yelled.

Lord Death was completely flabbergasted. It was Annaka! She had the slightly pale golden brown skin, big, dark chocolate-brown eyes and almost black hair which fell into her face, tied up into a messy bun with a red lotus pin. She wore black glasses and lots of jewelry. Eibon nodded. "You see how it's her. It's not Annaka though. She's bolder. She's a meister. Those two next to her are her weapons. She knows she's a witch and she's proud. Because of that, her weapons don't care.

They are the current Leath Arm, Jonah and Lucas West. Their different forms are a shillelag**h** and a tomahawk respectively."

Lord Death soaked this in silently. A witch meister with twin weapons? That's extremely impressive for a fourteen-year-old. It's hard enough for a human to do it but for a witch? "That's incredible."

Eibon nodded. "Her willpower is shown all the time. She, like Annaka, was under the sway of magic but she has enough self-control to not let it out. She's violent and isn't afraid to hit people. The only time she lets it out is when she fights Kishin Eggs and even then, she doesn't let it take hold of her.

She doesn't because of fear of what she might do if she does. She's afraid she'll hurt the innocent and everyone she loves. She knows that knowing herself, she would."

Lord Death slowly nodded once. She wasn't Annaka. Not at all. Annaka wouldn't have cared all that much. Annaka wasn't a meister. This wasn't Annaka. This was Neolani Delgato, the descendant of Annaka. They stopped talking to watch the look-alike of Eibon's sister.

She was standing, pressing buttons on her controller rapidly. The twin on her left was halfway between sitting and standing while the one of her right sat down, pressing buttons with a quiet precision that his two friends lacked. Neolani had her eyes glued to the screen and they didn't stray away once. The one on the left (Lucas) was a little more relaxed and let his eyes wander while the one on the right (Jonah) didn't speak at all, his eyes never leaving the screen.

After about a minute, Neolani was cheering for herself. "TAKE THAT! WOO!"

The one on the right sighed. "Neo, sit down."

She snorted and didn't do it. The one on the left smirked at her. "Fairy, sit down unless you want me to use you as a model."

She froze and sat down obediently. Lord Death took this in silently. "So, she must not like changing clothes and they called her Neo and Fairy so they must be nicknames."

Eibon nodded silently. "She's very tomboyish and they call her that constantly. They never use her full name."

Lord Death stopped watching and looked back at Eibon. "So what do we do?"

He sighed. "We bring her here, her and her weapons, and train her more than they've been trained on their own. They will get the book with help from some of the other students. Now all we need, is to enroll her."

Lord Death nodded. "Yes... and Eibon?"

Eibon didn't move and gestured for him to finish. "Are there more than just one witch meister?"

Eibon sighed. "Yes. Two more. They are here at the academy. The two meisters known as Crona Gorgon and Kim Diehl."

Lord Death was shocked again. He wasn't all that surprised that Crona was a witch, her mother was Medusa after all but Kim? He had no idea. He shook his head. "No matter. We have to get Neolani here as quickly as possible. She's our only hope of getting the book back."

Eibon nodded in agreement and Lord Death moved to contact Sid. Eibon left the room with one though on his mind.

_I hope she doesn't do anything too hasty. If she's anything like Annaka, she's bound to do something that'll get her in trouble._

* * *

**Okay... I hope you enjoyed! This is my first story ever! **

**Constructive criticism welcome! Stay tuned for next time! **

**Peace, Love and Save the Turtles!**


	2. The Letter

**The Letter: The Change of Epic Proportions.**

* * *

Neolani pursed her lips as she sat in her seat, praying for class to end quickly. She may have been an honors student and was really smart but that didn't mean she was restless to get out of school.

She rested her head on her propped elbow and stared dreaming. She ended up in her world. The one she created for times like these.

_She ran away from the police as fast as she could. She was a Wanderer, she wasn't welcome in that store and yet she went in anyway. Didn't they know that she wouldn't have went in if she had a choice? _

This was a reflection of her little sister's condition. She had a cold and had to stay at home. She stopped her dream and thought about her sister. She sighed silently._ Levi, tell me you're okay_.

Neo planned on skipping out on her gymnastic meet because she wanted to take care of her cousin. The girl meant everything to Neo. Neo grew into her protector after a couple of months and now they were inseparable.

Neo pursed her lips. _So how am I supposed to tell them? I could always call Allison, she'd understand. Right? _

She moaned mentally. _I'm screwed. _

She ran her fingers through her hair, taking a quiz at the same time. She licked her top lip. _Okay, I don't have English, Health or Spanish homework but I do have Social Studies, Biology and Math. Hmm... this should be fun. _

She helps her weapon partner, Lucas, with his Biology because he's fairly average in his grades while she is in honors. They actually have the same period. She likes to make fun of him for it.

It's been a month since they started school. Lucas was in his junior year with his brother. The fact that Jonah is older than him doesn't help. Jonah had to redo a school year because he had a different year in a different country.

The young witch started to twirl her pencil in her fingers as she waited for the rest of the class to finish their work. As stupid as she claimed to be, she was extremely fast when working and was usually correct.

She pursed her lips as she looked around the classroom. The room had pale yellow walls, a SMART board, a blackboard and a white linolium floor. Six rows with five desks each. She had her backpack next to her.

Her friend, Sam, was next to her, writing on his test while the substitute tried to get the class to settle down. It was a substitute so why did they have to listen?

What Neo wanted to know was why they were being so mean. She rolled her eyes at the latest remark and felt a surge of pity for the substitute. They had no reason for being so mean. What had the lady done to them?

She watched the substitute. A woman in her thirties with an egyptian accent. Neo had had her before. She had spoken egyptian for the class and Neo understood immediately, engaging in conversation with the lady. Her excuse had been she learned Latin out of boredom and read Egyptian books in Egyptian.

She blew a piece of hair out of her face, crossing her lower legs and slouching in her chair. She shook her head mentally. How could she distract herself so easily?

She knows it's good when changing subjects when speaking but inside her mind, she had nothing to hide from herself even if she was paranoid sometimes that someone could read her mind. She was a witch, who said it wasn't impossible?

The substitute suddenly silenced the class. "Everyone's done. Pass your papers up."

Neo did so obediently, passing her's and the girl behind her, Aliyah's quiz forward. She put her pencil back into her pencil case and looked back at the clock. It was time to leave.

She smiled to herself, zipped her case closed and putting it in her school bag. She didn't bother saying goodbye to Sam because she usually never did. He didn't either. It was a mutual relationship. A very aquaintance-like relationship.

The bell rang and she hoisted her bag on her shoulder, leaving the room silently. She waved goodbye to the substitute and walked through the crowded hallways to her lockers.

Lucas and Jonah were going to meet her there as they were going to take care of Levi too. She was like a little sister to them and they were going to keep their meister company.

She quickly sped through the halls, waving to the people she knew and weaving through the masses of color. She approached her bright red locker and twisted the dial, punching in the combination.

She put in the books she didn't need and zipped her bag. The two weapon brothers leaned against the lockers. She rolled her eyes, slightly interested in why they simply waited beside her. "Hello boys. So, do you guys need to do anything else or should we go now?"

Jonah smiled at her forwardness. She was a nice change of pace from all the other girls in the world who would beat around the bush. Even she's hiding something-which they never actually know-she's straight to the point.

He politely closed her locker for her and let her hook his arm in between his. She did the same with Lucas and they walked to the car. It was a rusty Chevy, Lucas's. It was a gift when he turned fourteen and got his license. Though it was his car, they usually let Jonah drive. They felt safer with him behind the wheel.

Jonah took the keys from his pocket and opened the car. He slipped into the front seat while the others followed. Neo climbed into the backseat and Lucas in the passenger's seat. She put her bag next to her as they drove out of the school parking lot. Neo reached forward to change the radio station and they let her, moving out of the way for her to get through.

She changed the radio station until she found a song she liked. She finally found one and sang along, her foot tapping to the beat. She pursed her lips. "I wonder how Levi's doing?" she said out loud.

Jonah looked forward to avoid her question. He'd only worry himself. He knew it'd only been a year since he met Levi but it took about two weeks for them to get used to each other. She's like a little sister to him, he loves her now after that time. He worries a little too much for someone his age and adding her would make him worry more than usual.

Neo knew this but she still asked. Lucas looked at his brother then at her. She winked at him teasingly and stuck out her tongue. Lucas grinned. "She's fine. You know that. Meister or not, you've taught her enough to handle herself."

Jonah felt his nerves calm with his brother's southern drawl. Neo smiled at the two. "Thanks, Kansas."

Lucas smirked at the nickname. "No problem. We should make cupcakes."

Neo perked up immediately and nodded with a huge smile. "We have mix at home! Levi loves yellow cake!"

They nodded, smiling with her. Jonah felt better already and drove into the driveway. He chuckled to himself while Lucas and Neo smirked at him. The three of him knew of his weakness. It's the only thing that could help him at the moment. They had a tendency of making fun of Jonah's weakness fr sweets.

He stopped the car and they climbed out, Neo running to the door to open it. She stuck in her key and twisted. She opened it easily and walked in. "We're home! Hey, Rosi! Hey, Nene! Hey, Isaac!"

She greeted the people in the house as she saw them. Her aunt by marriage, Rosabelle, her son, Melvin nicknamed Nene and Isaac, Neo's blood cousin on her father's side.

The boys greeted them as well and they headed to her room upstairs. They sat on her bed in different positions. She was against the post near her window, Lucas was on the wall and Jonah was sitting opposite Neo.

She piled the binders that she needed on the spot next to her with her two textbooks and her pencil case. She ran over to Levi's room quickly.

She opened the door and checked on her cousin. Levi was taking a nap, her hands tucked under her head, a thick blanket over her. Neo let out a sigh as she saw a visible improvement in the five-year-old's condition. She wasn't as pale and looked healthier.

Neo smiled and closed the door quietly before running back to her room. She went to her bed and smiled at the boys. "She's better and sleeping at the moment."

Jonah nodded in understanding and they did their homework, not talking to each other unless they had to. It was like this when they worked. Jonah was serious about his work, Lucas needed to grasp concepts and Neo did't want to disturb them. It was one of the things that they knew and didn't try to change. They knew this about each other and that's how they kept it.

Neo was working diligently, humming to herself. She finally had a slight idea and grabbed a notebook on her side table. She opened to an open page and started writing a poem that she thought of just now.

**I'm falling down into my shadow **  
**grasping onto every breath**  
**as I await the deadly night **  
**So scared but you can't give into this, **  
**you're fear of pumpkin carriages**  
**'cause all the witches see it in your eyes. **  
**See you in your dreams**  
**and in your nightmares too, **  
**that's where I'll find you. **

She sighed. That's all she had. She was in English class when she thought of it, day dreaming of stories she's heard. She thought of a dream she once had about magic. She'd forgotten about it until today.

She put it down and Jonah picked it up. He read it silently. "It's nice," he commented. "Very... dark. Like a nightmare."

She shrugged. "It was a dream. I tripped and fell in a place that I've never been before and instead of landing on the ground, I fell into a shadow, mine. It was so hard to breath. I had to put so much effort to even get air. It was like a person and it talked to me. It said I couldn't leave until nighttime came. When the witches come in their carriages of pumpkins.

I wasn't afraid but it seemed like there was someone else there. She had pink hair, big, blue eyes and pale skin. She was wearing a black robe thing with cuffs that reached her mid-calf with a collar. She had matching shoes. She looked so tortured, it hurt.

She was completely terrified when the person said it, shaking and yelling that she couldn't deal with it. The person said that she had to get over her fear or the witches would see and take her soul.

She disappeared and I didn't see her again unless it was in her dreams or nightmares, usually her nightmares because it was easier. She didn't need me in her dreams. It ended there. I was like her guardian angel for a bit... but not really. All I did was sing her nightmares away."

Her two weapons knew very well that her dreams were never meaningless. She had Dream Magic as she is a part Swan Witch, proven by the feathers hanging from her dream catcher. Even the most ridiculous dream had some meaning even if they were stupid or hidden. But this wasn't like most of her dreams. She wrote them in a book and she would tell them. She never hid anything from them. She knew they could help her.

Jonah looked at one of his best friends with furrowed eyebrows. "I don't know. Maybe you'll meet her... she had pink hair right?"

She nodded and her eyes widened suddenly. "She dissolved herself into the shadow by command, she was mouthing words. A mantra! She's a witch!"

She'd never met many witches apart from her family. Her grandmother on her mother's side was a witch and her grandfather was a medicine man and they had many memories together. They trained her in a lot of her magic. Dream/illusion, shielding and combination. She wasn't very proficient at the last two though.

She fingered her squash blossom bracelet just thinking about him. She bit her lip. "I'm not sure. We should get back to work."

They nodded and did as she said. She did her work until she finished. When she did, she put her stuff back. They finished a few minutes after her. She smiled. "Okay! Now that that's out of the way! Let's go to Levi and make cupcakes!"

Lucas lifted his arms up and cheered. "Let's!"

Jonah smiled at them both. "Yeah."

They made their way to Levi's room and they entered. Neo went over to the sleeping girl and Jonah's smile grew. "She looks better," he said, his Irish accent thick when he spoke.

Lucas nodded. "She looks a lot healthier."

Neo shrugged and sat next to her cousin. The girl looked a lot like her. They had a similar facial structure, enough so they could be mistaken as sisters. They had the same eye color, skin color and hair color but Levi's hair was curly, not straight. That was one physical difference. She also didn't have as many beauty marks.

Neo lightly shook the girl awake with a smile. Levi woke up, opening her dark brown eyes. Her eyes were slightly red but Neo didn't worry all that much about it. Levi always looked like she'd been crying for hours when she was sick.

Levi smiled immediately, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Hi, Fairy," she said with a hoarse voice.

Neo felt her heart break. She should've stayed home and taken care of the girl. Levi dug her face into her side and coughed lightly. Neo lifted her girl into her arms. "Let's go make cupcakes! We'll decorate them and everything! You're going to be a doctor and wear gloves and the mask."

Levi smiled. "Yeah. Let's go."

The only reason they had those was because Neo accidentally bought them. They all went to the kitchen and Rosi was in the living room, watching Dora with her nephew and son. Neo waved with a grin. "Hi!" she said. "We're going to make cupcakes!"

Rosi simply nodded. "Okay, don't make a mess."

While the boys and Levi went inside, Neo had a mischevious look. "I never do."

Rosi shook her head with a smile. Neo turned on her heel and strolled into the kitchen. She went to the pantry closet and grabbed a box of cake mix. She put it on a counter and by memory, took out the ingredients they needed.

Lucas helped Levi put on the surgical mask and gloves. They were big on her tiny hands but they'd work. Jonah brought out the several utensils needed. Bowl, electric mixer, measuring cups, cupcake tray, the paper cups and several spoons. Neo went to get the eggs, water and vegetable oil and placed them on the counter.

Neo nodded. "Okay! So, Levi, you got the eggs, Lucas, do the water and Jonah the oil! I'm put in the mix and help you, Levi, if you need it. That and I'll preheat the oven."

Levi, Lucas and Jonah nodded, doing their specific jobs. Neo skipped over to the oven and put the oven to 350 degrees. Neo then went over to the bowl, poured the mix into the bowl and helped Levi crack one egg of the three they needed.

Lucas put his liquid in the same time Jonah did and looked like twins. Levi giggled at this and poked both of them. Neo plugged in the mixer and grinned. "It's alive! Muahaha!"

Jonah rolled his eyes before taking it from her and putting it to the bowl, mixing the ingredients. Neo pouted but watched as he did it.

He quickly mixed it and Lucas, Levi and Neo put the paper cups in the trays. They all grabbed a spoon and filled the cups with batter. They had about three trays with six spaces for cupcakes so they'd make eighteen in total.

Neo grabbed a pair of oven mitts and stuck them in one at a time. She closed the door and phewed. "I thought I'd drop something."

Jonah shook his head. "Knowing you, you would."

She smiled mockingly and took off the gloves.

"Neo! There's a letter with your name on it!" a voice yelled.

Neo raised an eyebrow but shrugged and went over to get it. She looked at it and nodded when she found her name on it. She didn't bother looking at who it came from, walked back into the kitchen and gave it to Jonah. "Who's it from?" she asked.

He looked at her as if she was crazy, taking it from her hands. "You didn't check?"

She shook her head and shrugged. He snorted and gave it back to her. "Don't even. It's yours. Read it."

Neo took it with a wink and Levi looked at it expectantly. Neo opened it with a struggle-she never was good at it-and took out the letter. She opened it and read it out loud.

"To Oceanport, New York, blah, blah, blah. We'd like to announce that your daughter, Neolani S. Delato, has been accepted into Death Weapon Meister Academy..." she stopped reading and her eyes widened as she took it in.

Jonah and Lucas's jaws dropped and Levi perked up, knowing the words Death, Meister, Weapon and Academy but not knowing what they meant together. The girl knew very well what her cousin and her friends were. They had nothing to hide from her. It would kill them. Levi's eyes were wide. "What does that mean, Sissy?"

Neo gulped down her shock and shook her head. She put down the page and cheered loudly. "WOO! I'M GOING TO NEVADA!" she yelled loudly.

Levi smiled at her cousin's happiness. Lucas and Jonah were still too shocked to realize what she'd just said. Their meister was accepted into the DWMA. They'd been dreaming for as long as they'd all known each other that they'd be accepted into it.

She danced a bit before remembering that Levi was waiting. She stopped with a smile. "Levi, Death Weapon Meister Academy is a school for people like me, Jonah and Lucas. Weapons and meisters are taught things there. It's in Nevada. Death City. If Mom and Dad let me, I'll be able to go."

Levi's eyes glazed over. "What's that?"

Neo remembered that she was only five. That didn't necesarily mean she remembered what weapons and meisters were.

Neo smiled, her patience slight running thin. It didn't matter to her sometimes that she loved Levi, she had no patience ever. "Weapons are people who turn into weapons like... swords! Meisters are the people who use them. Like a prince in a story! I'm the prince and these two are my swords."

Jonah looked emotionlessly at her. "I'm a sword?"

She stuck her tongue out at him and looked at Levi who was nodding in understanding. "Yeah, okay. So what's Death Weapon Meister Academy?"

Neo grinned. "It's a school where are taught more things like... being awesome! It's in Nevada and we could be going there."

Levi smiled brightly. "We're going to Nevada!"

Neo knew there was a chance she wouldn't but with begging hopefully they'd cave. If anyone could take care of Levi, it'd be Neo. She'd have the boys to help of course. Neo picked up the letter and smiled, reading more. "... you've been placed into Class Cresent Moon of the EAT class or Especially Advantaged Talent class. This is the class in which you have to collect 99 Kishin Souls and 1 Witch Soul to create a Death Scythe.

In your case you have to collect twice as much due to your twin weapons, the Leath Arm or Lucas and Jonah West..."

The boys suddenly collected themselves and Jonah grabbed the letter. He reread silently and his eyes were wide. He put it down. "We've been accepted into the DWMA."

He ran over to Neo and spun her around happily. He cheered which was something uncommon for him. "WOO!"

Neo hadn't ever seen him so happy. He also had never done this before either. She hugged him and laughed. Lucas lifted his arms into the air and yelled like a madman. "IT'S ALIVE!"

They actually had no idea why he said it but they didn't want to question his sanity at the moment. It's too early for that. Jonah set her down and Lucas grinned. "Group hug!"

He hugged his brother and his best friend tightly. Levi felt a little left out and hugged Neo. Neo laughed, bringing her into the hug. They were grinning at each other happily. Of all the things that could've happened, it had to be this. It was random. Just the way Neo liked it. She couldn't have happier. The only thing that could make that day any happier for her was that Levi was healed and Lucas turned out to have a boyfriend but other than that it was good.

* * *

Neo walked towards her mother casually. She smiled at her mother. "Hey, mom."

Neo's mother, Salma, smiled back at her daughter. Lots of people told them that they looked very similar and Neo could see it. They looked very similar. Neo had her father's lips though. Neo handed her mother the acceptance letter. "This has my name on it and I opened it. I read it and thought you'd wanna see it."

She took it and opened it, reading it when she could. She mouthed every word like she usually did because Spanish was her first language, English was her second and she understood but didn't speak Romani. Her mother was one of the few generations in her mother's side that wasn't a witch. Her grandmother was an Owl witch and generations before that were different ones. Five generations ago was the last Turtle Swan.

Her mother knew very well about her daughter and her friends were meister and weapons. Neo just had no idea how her mother would react.

Her mother's eyes widened and she smiled at her daughter. "Do you want to go?" she said in Spanish.

Neo nodded. Salma's smile grew. "I'll help you pack. Apparently, you have the ticket, right?"

Neo pointed in the envelope and Salma nodded. "I'll tell your dad when he comes home."

Neo bit her lip in anxiety. "Uh... mom?" she said in English.

Salma looked at her. "Yes?"

Neo smiled sheepishly. "Can Levi come? She wants to. I can take care of her and Lucas and Jonah are gonna help."

Salma nodded. "I guess so."

Levi didn't have parents that they talked to. Levi's parents stopped talking to them years ago and left her on their doorstep. Neo and Levi's relationship grew and they are what they are today because of it. Levi calls Neo Sissy and Neo thinks of her as one. They've been inseparable.

Because of Levi's lack of parents, Neo's parents took it upon themselves to do so. So anything that has to do with Levi, Neo's parents are who to talk to.

Well, Neo's mom anyway. Neo's father wasn't around very often, working and drinking often. Neo was used to it because she was never very close to her father and she's never surprised with the newest news her mother said about her father. Neo cheered and hugged her mom, kissing her temple. "Thanks, mom!"

She ran out of the room and went to the closet in which the lugages were kept. She grabbed a few. She'd be responsible for once and write a list so Jonah wouldn't nag her for it. She dragged them to her room, shoving them under her bed.

Levi came in happily. "Are we going to Nevada?"

Neo lifted Levi onto her bed. "Mmhm! It's gonna be fun."

Neo would have to find a school to put Levi into and pack for her. She put on the movie Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses for her cousin, grabbing one of her three notebooks and writing her list. She felt her phone buzz and she snorted, grabbing and pressing it to her ear. "Hello?" she asked.

A chuckle made her smile. "Hey, Fairy? She said yeah? Our parents did."

It was Lucas. Neo grinned. "Yup. Levi's coming with us."

Lucas let out a whistle. "Saddle up, partner! Neo, Levi and the West brothers are going to Nevada. This should be fun."

Neo laughed. "You got no idea, hun. You got no idea." Neo smirked mentally.

_Well, I wonder how this'll turn out._

* * *

**Well, that took a lot longer than I expected. I live in New York. Hurricane Sandy hit my area and my family and I were stupid enough to stay home. **

**Believe me, the next chapter will come faster. I'm working on it now. **

**Later!**


	3. The Migration

**The Migration: We're of to Death City?**

* * *

Neo darted around the room quickly, trying to get everything in her bags and keeping it orderly at the same time. Neo being the master procrastinator that she is waited until the last-minute to actually start packing. She helped her weapon partners and her cousin, Levi pack but she failed in doing so for herself. Miserably, actually.

While she waved around, she had particular care with not trying to disrupt Lucas, Jonah and Levi who were watching Peter Pan starring young Jeremy Sumpter and Rachel Hurd-Wood on the TV her parents moved in there temporarily. It was resting on a little table that seemed out-of-place with the basically empty room. All of her furniture was on its way to Nevada, the apartment that they had.

It was a requirement for first-year students to live in the dorms. But then again, most first-year students don't have to care for a five-year-old.

Jonah was staring at his meister as she dashed around. _You idiot girl. Are you seriously trying to be polite at this moment? You're trying to pack to go to Nevada and you're trying to be polite? You had all this time to pack and you chose now, being considerate at the same time? Why are you such an idiot? _

She stuffed more things in and she grabbed a list, reading it quietly. _Clothes, check, laptop, check, notebooks, check… _

She looked down the list with a smile as she got most of the things on there. "Except one." She said.

She ran head first before she dived forward into a handstand, pushing herself upwards and she flipped in the air so she flew above the television without interrupting them and passing through the screen.

Lucas grinned, Jonah just shook his head and Levi giggled for a second then went back to watching the movie. She opened her "walk-in" closet and reached for her bag and camera. She felt something leathery and pulled. It was the camera bag, the strap to be exact. She slipped it on her shoulder and reached for the camera. She brought it down with a smile.

She stuffed the camera into the bag and she walked out. She slid on the floor, bending so she was lower than the TV. Lucas nodded. "How you do that without actually hurting yourself will always amaze me."

She stood up. She smiled at him. "I'm a dancer. It's hilarious though 'cause I trip over everything including myself."

He nodded. "That's actually kind of endearing."

She stuck her tongue out at him, placing the bag next to the luggage. She lifted her arms in the air. "Yes!" she whispered.

She kneeled and tried to close the bags only to fail. Jonah sighed, walked over to her and kneeled next to her. "Need help?"

She smirked at him. "Aww! You wanna play the gentleman! Alright."

He rolled his eyes. He pushed down while she zipped it closed. When they finished, she ruffled his hair. "Thanks, Carrot Top."

He glared at her. "You're lucky I even offered help."

She nodded slowly. "Sure and I'm a pink platypus bear with silver horns and pink hair. Think, you asshole of a leprechaun."

She left him sitting there and she walked over to Lucas, moving his arms and sitting in his lap. Jonah was glowering at her full force but she didn't look at him. She hated to admit it but when he gave her that look (which wasn't very often), she was afraid of him. She was afraid of lots of things because of the fact that she had really weird irrational fears that made people question her sanity often.

She had been afraid of scissors for about two weeks solely on the thought that she would somehow cut the veins in her tongue with them. She knew Lucas shared this fear. He was absolutely terrifying when he wanted to be.

She looked at Lucas to clear her mind. "Hey!"

He snickered. "Hey!" he mocked.

She grinned. "You having fun?"

He put his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder. "Sure."

She smirked and leaned into him. "You are so warm!" she complimented.

He snorted. "Nah, you're just really cold."

This was true. This was due to Neo's relationship with food. Neo had terrible eating habits. She could go without eating for a couple of days but she ate, half the time only eating two meals a day because she forgets to eat. She ate lots of snacks usually ignoring the serving size. When she ate, she ate with her hands, hardly ever using utensils. She drinks things like she can't get enough and has a variety of drinks to choose from. She's a little picky with her food but a few years ago she was even worse.

She hardly ate anything and most people claimed she lived off of air. Neo didn't eat very often but when she did she ate a lot. She is very distracted. This also proves to affect when she eats. Her odd eating habits affect her body temperature and her hands and feet are effected. Starting in the fall and ending in the mid-spring, her feet and hands adjust to the world around her to the point where people wonder if she's cold-blooded. This is one of those times.

She nodded, smirking. "Speaking of cold, feel this."

She placed her hand on his face and he jerked backwards. His face screwed up and she giggled. He shuddered. "What did you do? Stick your hands in a freezer for two weeks?"

Neo snorted. "You say that as if I have nothing else to do with my life."

Lucas smirked. "You don't."

She swatted him away and he laughed. They then averted their attention from each other to the movie. This happened very often. It wasn't a matter of attraction, more of affection since they were naturally affectionate people. Even still, many people asked them if they were dating.

They would answer with that Lucas was gay and that Neo was bored which of both were true. Lucas was flamboyantly gay. He was a fashion designer who used her often as a model to the point where he knew her measurements by heart so he wouldn't have to tie her up anymore. He may not look it but he'd hit on anything that looks remotely male like she would with anyone that wasn't her family and over the age of thirteen.

Jonah shook his head as he sat next to Levi who was too involved in watching and already used to their behavior to care. It was towards the end when they tried to revive Tinkerbell. Being the children-like teenagers they were, Lucas, Neo and Levi chanted when the characters did with Jonah staring at their antics with a raised eyebrow.

Neo stuck her tongue out at him and stood up. She put several blankets on the floor and two pillows to make her makeshift bed for her and Levi. The bed had been taken away and they had slept on the floor for a week. After Hurricane Sandy and Irene (**References!**), they'd be fine.

The movie ended with Levi yawning and Neo lifted her into her arms. "Boys! Shoo! We have to sleep."

They were all in Neo's house and the boys were sleeping over because it was a lot more convenient to go one way to the airport then to stop to pick them up a few blocks away. Neo had also mentioned that it saved money on gas and they were all for it.

The brothers rolled their eyes but they left obediently. Neo smirked and threw a pillow at Jonah. It hit him square in the back and he stumbled forward, not expecting the extra force. He turned, looked down at it and glared at her. She smiled innocently. "Can I have it back?"

He picked it up and threw it at her. He threw it a little further than he meant. She sighed, bended over, flipped over herself on her forearms and grabbed the pillow, placing it on the floor as if it was normal.

Levi giggled at Jonah and Lucas snickered. He pulled his brother out of the room. Levi crawled out of her older cousin's arms and laid on the makeshift bed. Neo turned off the light and laid down next to Levi. Levi curled up against her and Neo put an arm around her waist. Neo closed her eyes. _Looks like our new life begins tomorrow. _

* * *

Neo, Levi and Salma were sitting in the kitchen, eating breakfast when Jonah walked in with a black eye. He growled to himself and Neo snickered. "Lucas got you pretty hard, huh?"

Lucas was not a good person to be around when you woke him up. He had a tendency of being a complete and utter jackass. Jonah sat next to Neo and rested his head on the table. "Sometimes I wonder how we're related."

Salma laughed. "That's a valid question," she said in Spanish.

Jonah understood Spanish very well as he had to. Most of the people in Neo's house spoke Spanish. He took Spanish class and with Neo's help, he knew it very well. Speaking it was another thing completely. This also applied for Lucas who had better pronunciation of Spanish words. Unlike them, Neo spoke Irish like it was in her blood. It partially was. For whatever reason, she was an Omni-linguist. She understood everything and it annoyed her to no end. Humans were cruel beings.

He smiled. "Yeah. That sounds right."

He got up grudgingly and grabbed a box of cereal, a bowl and a spoon. The milk was on the table. He poured milk, cereal and started to eat. Lucas walked in stumbling and muttering that he couldn't get enough sleep. Salma shook her head. "You should've went to sleep earlier if you wanted to sleep."

It was now seven in the morning. He looked at her blankly before getting a bowl and spoon. He made himself cereal and ate slowly. Neo had to slap the back of his head to get him to move faster but not without a remark. He glared at her. "I'm sorry! Is it my fault you're a bitch?" he said rudely in Irish so Salma-who he didn't like to curse in front of, none of them did-and Levi wouldn't hear.

She smirked, knowing very well what he did when he was like this and understanding every word. "Oh! That's okay. Is it my fault you're PMS-ing?" she asked innocently in the same language.

He then ate and ignored her while Jonah chuckled. Salma shook her head. They finished eating quickly and washed their bowls. Salma went to put on her shoes and Neo moaned when she looked at the clock. "I hate the airport!"

She didn't necessarily hate it per se but she hated waiting. That's what annoyed her. She was a naturally very impatient person. It was one of the things everyone hated about her. She would voice her impatience often until they decided to do something. Though half the time, it's hard to tell. She lives in her own little world very often.

Neo helped Levi put on her shoes while Salma went off to start the car. They had put the luggage in the trunk before they had even started to eat breakfast and before Jonah tried to wake up Lucas. They really didn't want jackass Lucas to interfere. Even Salma knew how bad Lucas was in the morning.

Neo slipped on her shoes and Jonah did as well. Lucas went to change. He was still in his pajamas when he ate breakfast. Levi started singing a random song.

"_London Bridge is falling down,  
Falling down, falling down.  
London Bridge is falling down,  
My fair lady_."

Neo looked at her cousin. That song made Neo nervous. Neo had a very deranged mind. When she thought of that song, she thought of a creepy but adorable doll that sang to someone before they were killed. It was her sister that brought it though.

Neo's younger sister, Sarah, was annoying in her perspective. Lucas found her slightly annoying while Jonah just didn't want to be around her. Neo liked her sometimes but not all that much. Sarah was not as crazy as Neo but she was close. She was also a lot more innocent. They had said goodbye the day before. Neo had the nagging suspicion that Sarah would call the second they'd be in Nevada.

Sarah knew about her sister and her best friends and was a witch herself. She just really didn't do much about it though. Lucas was nice enough to let her pretend to be his meister. It usually ended up with her doing something stupid and/or breaking something.

She shook her head, lifted her into her arms and went outside to the car. She placed Levi in the middle seat of the back. Levi buckled er seatbelt and Neo sat next to her. Jonah st in the passenger's seat. Lucas, who magically managed to wake himself up more. They all knew he was going to sleep on the plane.

Salma smiled. "Alright then! Let's go!"

They all cheered as the car drove out of the driveway. Neo grinned. "We're off to Death City! We're off to the city of Death!" she sang.

* * *

Neo didn't look back as she went through the terminal, pulling Levi while she pulled a suitcase, carrying a backpack and small-medium sized gym bag. Lucas and Jonah were in front of the two, pulling suitcases and carrying backpacks of their own. Neo was used to being in airports. She actually claims that some of the best places to sleep are on planes. Her entire life she's traveled to places.

El Salvador, Arizona and Hawaii. She was used to long flights but never really complained. She was also very used to sleeping in weird positions in cars. After years of various places of sleeping places and in various positions, she could virtually sleep anywhere. She walked through the hallways, expertly from years of coming to the airport.

She looked at her tickets and maneuvered her way through the narrow line that was the plane. She was to be in Row 24. Levi, Jonah and her were supposed to share on side of a row. Lucas would be sitting in the same row with two other strangers on the other side. After convincing from Neo who had done that before, she told him it wouldn't be so bad.

The last time she did it the two people had been a small boy and his mother. They engaged in polite conversation but other than that they didn't speak much. It was pleasant for someone like her. Jonah would've hated it.

Neo left her suitcase and gym bag for Jonah who put them overhead in the compartment as he was taller. Neo buckled Levi who was now in the middle seat. After several trips to the movie theater, they knew not to let her in the end. Ever.

Neo pulled her hat lower so her face was hidden from anyone who would try to look at her. She now had all her hair tied in a bun and put a baseball cap over it. It was camouflage with a black smiley face on the front. She was dressed in jeans, converse, a blue t-shirt that said 'If you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried' and a gray sweater.

Levi was in a sweater, a flannel shirt, jeans and sneakers. Lucas and Jonah were dressed in something like the two, lacking the hat Neo had. Lucas simply waved before falling asleep. Best part about being on a plane. It doesn't matter what time it is, what day it is or who you're with, you can sleep and no one judges you.

Jonah sat next to Levi and looked at his meister. "So, are you ready to do this?"

Neo simply smirked. "Born ready."

He smiled back at her and an attendant said over the PA that the plane would begin to ascend. Neo finally buckled her seatbelt and leaned back into the seat, staring out the window.

* * *

They stepped out of the taxi with their luggage and looked at their apartment building. It was small compared to the ones in New York but it was an apartment building all the same. The heat was so hot in comparison to the crisp cold of New York. It was nearing the end of the year and they had just gotten their winter jackets for later winter. This was a little out of Lucas, Levi and Jonah's league.

Neo had been to El Salvador to visit her family in Christmas. She had gotten used to the heat quickly like she was doing now.

Neo walked in first and went to their apartment on the fifth floor. She walked down the hallways almost impatiently. She'd never seen it before but her mother had only explained vaguely since she didn't know either. She got the key from her pocket (which she took from Jonah when he wasn't watching), stuck it in the door and opened it.

Her eyes widened as she walked inside. It was huge... and full of boxes.

She walked in, shock filling her. It was so much bigger than she imagined. She felt like slapping herself. _It had four rooms. Of course it'd be big. _

The floor was a warm honey color and the walls were a cool, pale lime green. A door was next to her and she looked inside. It was the bathroom. Tan tiled walls and floor, a white bathtub and a silver-colored shower head. There was a white sink with a silver-colored faucet on top of a cabinet. There was a pretty mirror hanging on the wall above the sink.

Towards the right side was a kitchen with cabinets a lighter shade than the floor and counters a dark green with little specks of shiny things, black pieces and white pieces. _Granite._ She thought. _And I know that how?_

She shook the thoughts out and kept looking. Towards the left was two rooms, near the kitchen were two other rooms. In the middle was a huge space that Neo assumed to be the living room. Jonah, Lucas and Levi came a minute later and Lucas whistled. "This is bigger than I thought."

Neo smirked. "You have no idea."

Jonah could only stand there. "I never would've guessed."

Levi simply ran forward with an impish grin. "This is so cool!"

Neo suddenly ran forward and opened the door to the room next to the bathroom. She peered inside and her eyes were wide once more. The floor was the same but the walls were a different color. They were a soft cream. She placed a few things and laughed her evil villain laugh which was actually really bad compared to a real one. "I call this room! Levi, yours is the one next to mine."

She loved Lucas and Jonah but Neo felt more assured when Levi was closer to her. Especially since Levi was mostly Neo's responsibility.

Levi giggled and skipped into her room. "Okay!"

Lucas and Jonah moved to the other side of the apartment and claimed their rooms, Jonah on the end. After a few minutes of checking out their rooms, they all went out and started to open boxes in different ways. Lucas ripped them open with his bare hands, Neo used a scissor, Jonah used his hand which he had temporarily transformed into a blade and Levi just watched, putting things in the rooms that were their's.

Neo stopped to take random pictures of the apartment and of everyone, snapping so many pictures that they were surprised she still had room. Jonah looked at her. "How many pictures did you just take?"

Neo pursed her lips. "Thirty?"

He shook his head. "Just on this?"

She smirked. "You say that like I haven't taken pictures of stupider things more."

She was being very honest. When the multicolored Lucky Charms stars came out, she was completely shocked to find a green one as she hadn't realized that they were multicolored. She took several pictures of it in different places and from different perspectives. She still has those pictures.

She had a little problem with taking too many pictures. She went to the Museum of Natural History for a school trip. She took about... 430-50 pictures in total and still had missed several things meaning, that was only two floors out of the five. She was very, very happy that day and she also has those pictures in a photo album all to itself.

Jonah remembered something and looked at her. "Didn't you want to apply for a job?"

She nodded. While the school had given them each 200 dollars, Neo still felt better with making her own money. It would help with Levi since Neo wasn't stupid enough to actually spend it in one go. She had Jonah. Jonah had taken some of the money and saved it away somewhere. She had about $125 left. She would feel a lot more at home with a job. That and it would save her lots of time when she would do nothing.

Her eyes widened and she smirked. "I can do it now! Thanks, Jonah!"

She shoved the camera into his hands and succeeded in making in stumble back and trip on his own feet. She tied her hair into a pony tail, stuck it through the little hole her hat made naturally and ran out the door. Jonah looked at Lucas once. "That girl will kill me one day."

Lucas helped him up with a smile. "Maybe. But at least it won' the boring the way she kills you."

Jonah shot Lucas a glare, his eyes switching from the usual hazel to a similar green the walls were with a hint of tan. Lucas simply smirked. "You know its true."

Jonah watched the door for a few seconds. "Probably. But I want to die when I'm over the age of thirty."

Lucas laughed and this made Jonah crack a smile. "Yeah. That'd be nice. Now, let's get back to unpacking. I really don't wanna procrastinate till the last-minute like a certain mixing pot."

Jonah smirked. "Yes, we should."

* * *

Neo wander the confusing streets of Death City with no real way of knowing where she was going. She left the map with Jonah, she didn't have any money on her that she knew of and there was hardly any people out where she was. She sighed. Of all the stupid things she could've done, it had to be this. She was in a foreign city without a map and she never looked anything valuable that she could look up. Neo did her research and she knew lots of things about this place but she was too distracted with being herself that she didn't memorize a map of any sorts or at least a place that she could navigate from.

She crossed several streets and tried to remember every street she passed. She was doing a fair job but to be honest, the witch wasn't doing a very good job of keeping track. That was Jonah's job. She growled to herself at how stupid she was. _Can't remember to bring a map. How useless am I at the moment? _

Then again, she was never the most responsible person. Jonah had her beat. Heck! Lucas had her beat and that boy was the same boy who would rebel against public rules but name every fashion rule by heart and follow them like they were the Bible.

She passed a few stores but didn't find anything that interested her other than the names and buildings. It was like Halloween here. She had the feeling that if she walked around in full kimono and geisha make up, no one would look at her weird. In fact, they wouldn't even look at her.

She had just walked by a girl who had purple hair, amber eyes, a curvaceous body that would've made Lucas jump for a chance to design something for it and was barely wearing clothes. Whoever she was, Neo had a feeling that if they ever met, they'd be friends.

Neo stopped in the middle of the street. What if she... was a witch herself? Neo wasn't really sure what she was expecting. She expected to see a witch sooner or later but she didn't expect it so soon.

She then shrugged. Why expect things? That ruins surprises.

Neo kept wandering and slapped her head. _Idiot! Get back to the situation! You're lost, motherfucker! Do you want to stay lost?_

She glared at her bangs. "This is why I hate you," she said.

She laughed to herself, earning weird looks of the random passersby. "I'm such an idiot, it's actually amazing."

She somehow managed after about twenty minutes to make it to what she assumed to be the square. There was a fountain in the middle and she threw her arms into the air. "SUCCESS!" she yelled loudly.

Everyone around her, people her age, simply stared at the girl. She looked around for some where she could work at. In the windows of a little café was a sign that said 'Workers Needed!' She looked around once and smirked at everyone she saw staring at her. She moved her hand through the air. "Get on wich yo lives. What did I do?"

They all looked away, some with embarrassment, others a little offended. She looked at the name and smirked. Deathbucks. What is Starbucks too mainstream?

She strut to the store with a huge smile. This should be fun.

Neo walked into the café and took it in. It was fairly big with white walls and a white tiled floor. It had two doors, the store front was black with a sign coming out, the words Deathbucks scrawled in pretty writing. She saw the white lanterns that hung from the ceiling, the plants decorating the room and tables all around the room.

She looked up at the menu that hung from the ceiling. She now felt like slapping herself again. _They sell_** coffee**_ here. And I didn't realize this because? _

As much as she liked to drink things, she absolutely hated coffee. She never drank it. She didn't like to be around. She didn't even like looking at it. Lucas and Jonah drank coffee and she didn't say anything thought they knew she really didn't want to be around them.

She skipped over to the counter, her eyes straying from it to the boy at the counter. He was behind the cash register and she cocked her head.

He was handsome in a way with an innocence she didn't expect from someone her age. He had feathery, chestnut hair, light skin and these pretty, thick-lashed dark blue eyes with the strangest golden specks in them. His looks reminded her of someone Jewish she knew.

She said Jewish because she knew a couple of Jewish people and where she came from there weren't many people she looked like that. He was taller than her by several inches as most people.

He was lanky, wearing what she assumed to be the uniform. He wore a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a black bow tie-she was secretly cheering for it-a dark waistcoat, black pants and an apron with a little skull emblem. He looked up and met her gaze. "Can I help you?" he asked.

Neo snapped out of her daze and shot him a grin. "Sorry, sweetcheeks. I forgot I was here. Your eyes are really nice, you know that?"

His cheeks and ears turned scarlet and Neo smiled. "It says you're looking for someone to hire and I'd like to apply."

The color slowly faded from his face and he nodded. He gestured for her to follow him. She followed him, letting him lead her into an office where an intimidating man sat on a chair. The boy looked at him. "Sir, Miss...?"

Neo stuck her hands in her pockets, grinning. "Delgato. Neolani Delgato. I prefer Neo."

He was tall even sitting, strongly built and middle-aged. His dark, stern-looking eyes were watching her and his black hair was short in a spiky mohawk style and light stubble around his chin. He wore the same clothes the boy did. She guessed he was the owner.

They both nodded. "So, do you have any experience?" he asked politely.

She smirked. "Two years of experience. My uncle hired me." He nodded once.

"Why do you need a job and how long do you need be here?"

She shrugged. "As long as I want to. I feel more comfortable working. I just moved here today."

After a few rounds of questions, he decided to hire her. The man nodded. "I see. Call me Master and this is Matthew. We can't give you a shift until Monday. Matthew, get her the uniform. She'll fit a small, I guess."

Mathew nodded diligently, letting Neo walk in front of him. He left her by the counter. "So, I guess you're our newest waitress. Wait, here. I'll go get it."

She bit her lip. She had no idea what to expect. She noticed lots of waitress and waiter informs when she went out partly because Lucas would make comments on them. Some were the regular white shirt-black pants while other involved sombreros and a mariachi band outfit for a Mexican place. As simple as theirs was, she was a little worried.

Matthew holding a white box and he held it out for her with a smile. "Her. This is yours."

She took it, her nerves easing a bit at his smile. She bit her lips in embarrassment. "How do I get to Lane's Apartments from here? I kinda just came across this place."

He laughed and gave her directions. She smiled when he finished. She kissed his cheek. "Thanks! See you whenever!"

She ran out the door, leaving the boy stunned and red again. He shook his head and smiled at where she stood. "I'm guessing we're friends then."

* * *

She burst in the apartment with a huge smile on her face. "Guess who's back with a job?!" she yelled.

Lucas came out of his room with huge eyes. "Holy shit! What's in the box?"

She grinned. "My uniform."

He lunged forward and grabbed it from her hands. "I'm excited to see what little Elfie has to wear."

They had a habit of calling her that. She was very small for her age and the fact that they were so much taller didn't help. She was also a huge fan of magical creatures from movies she loves to watch and stories she reads. Her favorites are fairies and elves. Elfie was inspired by the elves. She had actually had a name for the fairy aspect since before she knew the two boys.

Levi liked Tinkerbell and so did Neo. They used to watch that movie all the time. Levi speaks very good Spanish for her age. She noticed that adjectives go after the noun even though she doesn't know that was the proper term for it. Levi also noticed that Neo's favorite color was blue. BOOM! She thought of it. Fairy Blue. Levi called her that ever since... or Fairy for short.

Levi jogged over to her cousin and hugged her leg. "Fairy! Why were you gone for so long? I missed you?"

Neo smiled. "I went to get a job. I now am a waitress at Deathbucks."

Jonah popped out of his room and put his arms across his chest. "What? Is Starbuck too mainstream? Or are you just being a troll?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm being serious. The name of it is Deathbucks. We are now going to see what my uniform is."

Jonah smiled cruelly. "This I want to see."

Lucas eagerly opened the box and he squealed when he saw what was inside. He pulled out a few garments and laid them on the couch. A small cap in the shape of a skull, a white dress shirt with puffy shoulders, a black polka dot tie and suspenders... attached to a dress. The skirt fanned out with a white stripe along the bottom.

Neo froze in fear at the length of the skirt and that she had to wear one. Jonah was chuckling to himself, knowing his meister very well. Lucas liked it but he knew Neo wouldn't wear it even if it were the last thing she had. He froze in place before looking at her. "I'll fix this hun. When do you need it?"

Her voice was pitchy and quiet when she spoke. "Monday."

He smirked. "More than enough time."

He grabbed the things, put them back in the box and strode to his room. When his happened, Neo looked around. She nodded at the progress they were making. They had set up the TV and several boxes were crowding the doors of their rooms. Empty boxes littered the room but things were beginning to look like an actual little home.

Jonah smiled. "See, what we can accomplish when you're not around. You left for about an hour."

She smiled sheepishly. "I won't get in the way. I hope."

He sighed. "We all do."

He hunched over another box and opened it. She began to open another one. They spent the next few hours just unpacking or putting boxes in rooms. By the time they stopped, everyone's belongings were in their rooms still in boxes and most of the furniture was in place.

She sat on the couch, out of breath. "I can't believe we're not done yet."

Lucas had been locked in his room for those hours, only coming out to get fabric. Lucas was a hardcore fashion designer when he wanted to be. None of them knew how to stop him from doing it. He'd design anywhere and he pays certain attention to clothes. He knew Neo was one of those people who didn't wear short or girly things unless she wanted to. She didn't wear short skirts and preferred pants over any article of clothing.

That's why he was altering the skirt. He didn't want his meister to suffer while working. When he designed, he was extremely focused. As terrible as he was in the morning, he could go a few days without sleep and be fine when designing. It was the only thing they knew could keep him from being a jackass every time because he wasn't like himself tired. If that happened, he wouldn't design.

Levi had pitched in her help as well in unpacking. She was the one to put things in the rooms since she couldn't open them and couldn't carry heavy things. She would sing or dance to pass the time. She was in charge of decorating. Like putting little things like plants and rugs in the places they told her to. She had done a good job with the bathroom and it looked like a regular bathroom.

Jonah was the heavy-lifter. He'd move the heaviest items like the couch and the beds. It was hilarious considering the strongest one of them all was his little brother who was in the middle of alterating a dress. He was in charge of getting everything they couldn't lift into the proper places.

Neo was the box opener and stuff-taker-outer. She was in charge of taking out things they needed to use and she would tell Levi where to put each box. She had a great memory of many things that most people don't remember. Like this. She had several lists, they all did, but she wouldn't even try to look at it. If she needed help, she'd ask but she really didn't.

An idea appeared in Neo's in her head and she face-palmed. "Dude, I could've just opened all of this up with magic. This didn't even occur to me earlier."

Jonah rolled his eyes. "We wouldn't have let you do it earlier either. Soul Protect, remember?"

She nodded slowly in understanding. "Yeah. I get it."

They agreed she wouldn't use her magic here. Witches were not very accepted in the DWMA. Witch meisters, unheard of. If there was one other than her, she didn't know about it. For now, she'd blend in. If she released her Soul Protect now, it might seem like a random witch was infiltrating Death City.

Levi's eyes grew wide. "Really? Okay! I won't say anything."

Neo ruffled Levi's bangs since her hair was in pigtails. She smiled. "I know you won't!"

Lucas walked out of his room with a huge grin. Neo noticed that he was a wearing a tank top that he wasn't wearing earlier. "I'm done! Now change into it! I wanna know if it fits!"

Neo raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if you've gotten fatter."

Neo glared at him. "Do you expect me to get fatter, asshole?"

Lucas put his hands up in defense. "I don't know. Maybe you got fatter. I haven' taken your measurements in two months."

She covered Levi's eyes, flipped Lucas the birdie, uncovered Levi's eyes and stomped into the room. Lucas chuckled as she passed him. She let Lucas come in, grabbed the newly altered shorts and stripped her pants. She wasn't shy. Never really was. Add that to being shameless, she changed in front of Lucas. She didn't like to do it in front of Jonah because she was strangely uncomfortable.

His room was very similar to hers, the only difference being that more things were unpacked and his walls were white. She pulled the shorts on while mumbling and Lucas helped her with the suspender straps. Lucas whistled when they were on all the way. She rolled her eyes and posed ridiculously. Lucas smiled. "It looks good. Wait... are they a little loose?"

She nodded. His eyes widened in disbelief and he walked over to her, pulling the top of the shorts to reveal an inch of looseness. His jaw dropped. "You haven't been eating again!"

She snorted. "So? This happens all the time."

Again, Neo's eating habits also involved erratic eating patterns. She ate some months and gained weight, she didn't eat as much and lost some. It was unpredictable and could happen at any time. This was the period in which she wasn't eating as much. "Did you eat after the plane?" he asked.

She shook her head. He patted her stomach and looked at her in the eye. "Eat! We're ordering food! Jonah found out there's a Chinese place. I don't care if it's good. He got the number. We're calling."

He let her change back into her pants. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the living room. "We're ordering Chinese! Neo hasn't eaten since the airplane! Miss thang, here, is in her lesser stage."

Jonah nodded and flipped out his cellphone and dialed a number quicker than Neo could see. She sighed. Lucas smiled. "Let's have a movie night! Levi! It's your turn!"

Every so often, they'd have a movie night. The person's turn was based on whoever picked the movie last. It went in order by age. Jonah, Lucas, Neo and Levi. Last it was Neo's turn. It's now Levi's. She smiled. "Tangled!"

Lucas went forward and connected the DVD player. Neo and Levi went to change into their pajamas. They had no idea what time it was but they were better off prepared. The day was Friday. They had the entire weekend to do whatever they had to before school started on Monday. Jonah would get a job tomorrow. Lucas' job was to take care of Levi until they officially found someone to do that for him. He played the part of the house wife.

Jonah called the place, ordering while trying to keep his accent out of it so they could understand. Neo walked out sweatpants, a huge purple shirt with the words 'Dodd Drama Club Presents Dreamgirls' with a picture of girls with buns and dresses in between Presents and Dreamgirls and socks. She had been in her school's production of Dreamgirls. It was her first play ever.

Levi was in something similar. A huge t-shirt, hers was a plain gray, and purple striped flannel pants. She was wearing pink slippers and socks. Lucas was sitting on the couch with the control in his hand. Jonah nodded and closed his phone. "It's coming."

They all sat on the couch and Lucas pressed play. After watching several minutes of advertisements and a little skit, the food had come. They ate while watching the movie and Neo sang with food in her mouth. "That's when my life begins!"

She mentally smiled. _You have no idea._

* * *

**I'm sorry I took so long. I'm an awesome procrastinator. This one is at least longer than what I expected. **

**Lots of things are true. The pictures, the airplane ride, the eating habits... don't judge me. I have issues. **

**I promise I'll update the next one earlier! Till then!**

**Later!**


	4. The Dentist Song

"Meow" That's regular writing.

"**_Meow_**" That's singing.

* * *

**Welcome**** to the DWMA: The Dentist Song**

* * *

Liz walked into class, flanking her meister who was a stickler for punctuality. The fact that he made them three hours late on their very first day of school does say something though.

Her little sister, Patty was on Kid, her meister's, other side. They walked to their seats. Liz sat down and smiled at Tsubaki. "Hey."

Tsubaki perked up at the sight of her best friend and she smiled brightly. "Hi, Liz, Kid, Patty. How are you doing?"

They all answered about the same thing. "Good."

They exchanged their hellos with Blackstar, Maka, Soul and Crona. Soul cut straight to the chase with something that had been on his mind for some time, starting from when he first heard of it. "Hey, has anyone heard of anything on the new kids?"

The biggest news in the school were the new kids who would apparently start their first day today. Three of them apparently. A girl and two boys.

Kid looked at Soul. "I think their names are Neolani, Lucas and Jonah. Father told me so. They're also going to be in this class."

Blackstar growled and slumped in his seat with his arms across his chest. He was upset this was happening again. Someone who took his spotlight.

Tsubaki noticed this. She smiled at him. "It's okay, Blackstar. You'll always be the biggest star."

He smiled weakly back at her attempt but was still upset. Kid shook his head at his friend's behavior.

He smiled weakly back at her attempt but was still upset. Kid shook his head at his friend's behavior. "Blackstar, please tell me you aren't going to try to assassinate them like you did me?"

Blackstar rolled his eyes. "Nah. They ain't worth it."

Crona looked up at him. "Blackstar, are you okay? You know you can talk to us if something's wrong."

Blackstar stared at her. He grinned at her behavior. She never failed to amaze him when she did things like that. He laughed loudly. "I'm fine. Don't worry, Crona."

She smiled back. Soul looked at his best friend. "Tell me you won't. We failed miserably last time."

They looked pointedly at Kid. It had been a decisive defeat. It was actually kind of embarrassing. How bad they lost.

Blackstar shook his head. "I don't wanna waste my energy."

They all rolled their eyes and Stein rolled into the room on his chair. He somehow didn't fall and smiled at them, the bell ringing loudly. "Are the new kids here yet?"

Everyone shook their heads. No new faces anywhere. He hmmed and looked at the class. "Well, that's interesting. I thought they'd be early."

He really didn't expect it. He just wanted to ease himself. The fact that they were coming irked him. Not the weapons since they were normal weapons but the meister. The girl irritated him to no end.

Apparently, the girl was a witch who managed to be a meister. Not only that but she had somehow developed a technique that could rip the souls out of Kishin. He saw the science behind it and understood but the fact that a mere teenager could do that with no actual training made him wonder who they were dealing with.

He shrugged. "Well, anyone know anything about them other than the rumors?"

Most of them shook their heads. He sighed. "Well. I'll give you the basics. Neolani is the meister and Lucas and Jonah are the weapons. They are transferring from a normal school in New York, I believe."

The students soaked up this information silently. He kept going. Maka raised her hand and he let her speak. She sat up straight. "Wait, if they went to a normal school, how did they find out?"

He nodded, expecting this question from a meister. "The weapons found out first. Weapons can have their weapon forms surface in a random time in their lives.

Some later than others. They must've had theirs surface before they met her. She found out she was a meister since her hometown in a good place for Kishin Eggs to hide.

It's a place an hour away from New York City but it's easy to hide bcause all kinds of people live there. Like New York, it's like a mixing pot. Most are regular people. She's one of the only four meisters in the towns with lots of people. She learned to protect those around her. When they met, it was a perfect fit. She could be their meister and they became a weapon/meister group for a year.

It wasn't until now hat we realized their potential to be greater so we invited to them to join us."

A random first year looked at Stein. "I would've noticed if newcomers came."

Stein smiled mockingly. "That's because they aren't going to the dorm. They have to take care of a five-year-old. The girl's cousin. Would it really be appropriate to send a five-year-old to live in dorms?"

The girl immediately slumped back in her seat. He smirked. Maka's eyes widened. "Wait, she's bringing a five-year-old here, where it's more dangerous than over there?"

Stein shrugged. "I don't know if she's of perfect sanity. I've never met her before."

As if on cue, the door was slammed open.

* * *

Neo ran through the streets of Death City, Lucas and Jonah at her heels. They had just dropped off Levi at the daycare that was joined to her school. From there a woman would take her to her class.

Neo had made Levi promise that if anything fishy happened (that is, anything that violated her list of rules), Neo would destroy her without any second thoughts, maybe even let her sway of magic take slight hold of her. When it came to Levi, Neo would kill.

They weaved through building and Jonah barked orders on how to get to the school. He had memorized the map Death City since Neo forgot two after and Lucas had no sense of direction. He didn't like holding a map and reading off it unless he absolutely had to. "Left."

The team made a sharp left and Neo raised an eyebrow. "Is this place purposely a maze or is it just me?"

Jonah nodded and proceeded to explain. "It's purposely like this. Lots of criminals, Kishin Eggs/Pre-Kishin and things along those lines come here because it's easy to hide or at least they think it is. Like home. This makes it easy to hunt them down The people who thought of it also thought it would be hilarious to see how many people got lost."

Lucas and Neo laughed while Jonah rolled his eyes and gave another direction. "Turn right."

They did so and after a few minutes of that (with Lucas commenting that his brother sounded like a GPS), they finally made it to the school's famous stairs. They were of a ridiculously large amount.

Neo's eyes widened. "Dude. No wonder they said to have a decent amount of lower body strength. This is insane."

Lucas moaned. "I don't wanna move anymore! This is torture."

The other two gaped at him. Lucas was undoubtably the strongest of the three. He had dealt with bulls twice his size for years. Now, he was complaining about going up stairs?

Jonah shook his head, not wanting to stay there for longer than they needed to. "Let's go. We're late anyway."

Neo smirked but her eyes showed annoyance. "Thank you, Kansas for refusing to wake up!" she yelled.

The younger boy lifted his hands in defense. Neo rolled her eyes and did her best to suppress the urge to slap him. So far, it was working.

She rolled her eyes and started jogging up the stairs. Lucas groaned once more as Jonah grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs. Lucas pouted on their way up. "Jonah! She's being mean to me."

Jonah glared at him. "If you don't like it, say it to her, not me. It's your problem. I'm not going to do anything about it."

Jonah loved his brother. He really did. He just didn't like slackers. He only put up with his brother out of love and Neo because she could work hard, she just really didn't want to. That and Neo was his only friend outside of his brother who he genuinely trusted. That had always been one of the reasons he put up with her.

Lucas made a dejected sound and hid behind his brother, following him as he sped up to reach Neo. Jonah was still behind Neo but this time, Lucas was behind him. Jonah led them into the school like an adult leading two children to their first day of preschool.

The building itself looked like a fun house. It stood on a platform which acted as a courtyard. There were several large black towers and spires with white lines, the occasional Lord Death mask appearing. The roofs og the towers were bright red. Enormous candles stuck out from the shafts. There were three huge Lord Death Masks lined up at the entrance. The entrances themselves were in between the teeth. There were three black orbs hovering above it.

The second Neo passed the threshold, she wanted to run and hide, something that never happened. She was never the new girl since she lived in the same town and went to school there her entire life. This was not something she was used to.

The boys didn't seem to notice though because of how well she hid it. Jonah led them around the building expertly like he did the city. She looked at the elder weapon.

How much had he memorized and how much time had he wasted trying to? She knew that Jonah was similar to her in terms of intelligence, gasping things quickly. The difference was that he studied in contrast to her who didn't. She didn't think she even knew how to.

She hid behind him in a way that didn't seem like she was hiding behind him. She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. Okay, she thought, how do I make myself feel better? I'll be a nervous wreck if I go on like this.

The witch mentally listed the possibilities. She could just let them guide her like she was blind because she partially was. She even had glasses to prove it.

She rolled her eyes at herself. That wouldn't help at all. This would only make her more nervous with all the stares and whispers.

She finally found something that would suit her tastes and make everything disappear. She would sing her cares away. It always worked.

She sang in the shower, in the car, when doing her homework, in her brain during school, when she was happy or sad or whatever emotion she was feeling, she sang along to movies when they had songs and she sang when she could. This wouldn't be an exception.

She moved in the middle of the two boys and Jonah started talking. "Neo, try not to make anyone find out that you're a witch unless you absolutely have to, okay?"

She nodded and started to sing. Well, almost. She was half singing, half talking.

"When I was younger, just a bad little kid,  
My mama noticed funny things I did."

Jonah glared at her. "Neo, what are you doing?"

She ignored him completely and Lucas smirked at his meister.

"**_Like shootin' puppies with a BB gun_**  
**_I'd poison guppies, and when I was done._**"

He snapped his fingers in front of her face and she swatted his hand away and kept singing. She began to dance along the hallways, their classroom nearing quickly.

"**_I'd find a pussy cat and bash in its head_**  
**_That's when my mama said_**."

Lucas chuckled and he half sang the girls' part. "**_What did she say?_**"

She smirked and Jonah stopped trying to get her attention. When she was like this, there was no getting through to her.

"**_She said, "My boy, I think someday_**  
**_You'll find a way_**  
**_To make your natural tendencies pay_**."

They made it in front of their new classroom and Jonah opened the door. Neo rolled her eyes and kicked the door so hard that it slammed into the wall. Even though she knew she could've stopped. She kept going. She hated it when people interrupted her when she was singing. She just had to finish the chorus. Then she'd stop.

She posed at the door.

"**_You'll be a dentist!_**"

She felt the eyes of everyone on her, including her weapons. She knew Jonah was gaping at her boldness and she couldn't help but want to tell him that he should've expected this. She didn't stop and walked to the front of the room, the two boys following her slowly.

"**_You have a talent for causin' things pain_**  
**_Son, be a dentist_**  
**_People will pay you to be inhumane-_**"

A voice stopped Neo from singing for a moment. It was singing the same song and Neo looked up to see a girl her age standing.

"_**Your temperament's wrong for the priesthood-**_"

Neo smirked in response and sang, cutting her off.

"**_And teaching would suit you still less_**."

The girl sang still but this time they were singing in unison.

"_**Son, be a dentist**_  
_**You'll be a success**_!"

Neo had a huge smile on her face and she pointed to the girl. "I don't know who you are but you are my new best friend. I'm Neo."

* * *

The gang had stared at the new girl in shock like the rest of the room except for Artemis, who sung with her.

She was pretty. Not outright but more quiet. She had long dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, slightly pale golden brown skin and wide, dark chocolate-brown eyes. She had an open face and exotic features. She was small too. 5'3" maybe. She had a dancer's physique but was more on the lanky side.

She wore a pair of light blue jeans, a wine colored sash, black converse, a striped sea green, white and pink-coral tank top with a pocket on the left breast and a black sleeveless hoodie. She had several pieces of jewelry: eight random bracelets, two necklaces and a pair of small golden earrings. She had a light blue scarf in her hair and black rimmed glasses on her face.

The two boys that came in the room with her flanked her like Liz and Patty did to Kid. They looked like twins and they could be.

They had matching red hair, hazel eyes and light tanned skin. Their features were distinctly European. They were lean and slender, towering over her by several inches. They actually looked like giants in comparison. They had lots of freckles around the bridge of their noses and on their cheekbones in a pattern that was lesser at the ends and more in the middle.

The one on her right looked thoroughly embarrassed by her antics and surprised she actually did it. He wore an unbuttoned green and blue flannel shirt with a white tank top underneath, blue jeans, a black watch and brown brogue sneakers. He was standing with his arms across his chest.

The one on her left was grinning proudly as if he was happy she did that. He looked like a genuine cowboy unlike Liz and Patty. He wore a red and blue flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, blue jeans, a necklace with a bird charm on it, a leather bracelet, a friendship bracelet and a pair of brown cowboy boots. He was leaning against Stein's desk.

Stein looked at them. "May I ask why you're late?"

The girl glared at one of them. "Lucas, here wouldn't wake up 'cause he's the most lazy ass person you will ever meet. That and we kind of let him take us to my cousin, Levi's new school. It took me ten minutes to realize that he had no idea where he was going. Wait, Jonah, why didn't you say anything?"

Liz's jaw dropped at the way she spoke. She cursed to a teacher. She seemed a little embarrassed but not much.

The other boy looked at her with a bored look. "I wanted to see how long it took you to realize that Lucas has no sense of direction and didn't have a map."

She glared at him for about three seconds then ignored him. He didn't mind.

* * *

Neo was angry with Jonah. She couldn't belive that he purposely tried to make her look stupid. Didn't he realize she did that naturally? There was no reason for him to embarrass her.

She mentally snorted. Best self-esteem ever!

The teacher whose name was Stein-she looked at her paper and said that Class Crescent Moon was taught by Professor Stein-and she thought he was creepy looking but awesome at the same time.

Gray hair, green eyes, glasses, pale skin and scars all over his face and body. He was taller than Jonah by a bit and muscular. He wore a white, stitched lab coat, white pants, white, stitched shoes and a turtleneck shirt with patches of different shades of gray. He had a screw coming out of his head and screamed sadistic. She thought it was cool.

He looked around. "Where should I seat you?"

Neo and Lucas grinned while Jonah face palmed. He addressed Stein but didn't look at him. "You didn't plan this out?" he all but yelled.

His two partners snickered. The redhead glowered mercilessly at them. Lucas shut up immediately out of habit and Neo met his gaze with a raised eyebrow as if challenging him. The girl who sang with Neo stood up again. "She's sitting next to me."

Neo ripped her gaze from him and ran, sitting next to the girl. Jonah only stared. Lucas rolled his eyes, grabbing his brother's hand. Lucas sat next to his meister while Jonah sat next to him.

Stein looked at them for a few more seconds and shrugged before starting his lesson. "Welcome to the DWMA. Okay, class, since I don't have anything to dissect today..."

Neo sat up straighter and the girl grinned at her. "That's like my favorite part of this class," she commented.

Neo smirked at her. "We're going to be great friends."

Lucas, however, froze in place and whimpered like a kicked puppy. He hated science. How he even got to Biology was beyond him. He didn't like it and he never really understood the need of it.

Jonah's jaw dropped in shock.

Oh, what had they gotten themselves into?

* * *

Neo walked through the halls with the girl who sang with her next to her, slightly in front to lead the way. Jonah and Lucas were having a conversation with Matthew, her co-worker, a few steps behind them. Turns out that Matthew was the girl's weapon. Bow and arrows.

Jonah was actually surprised someone his meister's age was actually shorter than her. The girl stood an inch shorter than Neo's 5'3".

Neo suddenly thought of something and froze. She turned to look at her. "What's your name? I forgot to ask."

Jonah rolled his eyes behind her and Lucas giggled. Their eyes had reflected the pale yellow walls and were now a bright amber. They all stopped walking to see how the girl would introduce herself.

A huge smirk came across her face and she stood up straighter. "I AM MELON LORD, BOW DOWN BEFORE ME PEASANT! but seriously, my name is Artemis."

Neo burst out laughing with Lucas and put an arm around her shoulders. "We're going to be great friends."

Artemis chuckled then noticed the eyes of the two boys. She cocked her head. "Weren't your eyes hazel before?"

They looked at each other once then grinned. They looked back at her, nodding. They answered like twins. Together in perfect harmony. "Yes."  
Artemis looked at them weirdly. "Okay..." she trailed off.

Lucas laughed. "It's alright. Our eyes aren't like regular ones. It's hereditary. Our eyes reflect colors off the walls. Their naturally hazel but in certain lighting, they turn different colors."

Artemis simply nodded. Neo smirked. "Didn't see that coming did you?"

Artemis smirked back. "Nah."

Lucas started walking again and Jonah face-palmed as Artemis pointed in the other direction. He looked around them realized he was going in the wrong direction. He giggled before walking the other way.

They were going to their lunch period and Neo felt good about the school so far. She liked Stein immensely even if he scared Lucas out of his pants. She also liked the blue-skinned man, Sid Barett, who was apparently a zombie.

She noticed that the people here were very eccentric. A blue-haired kid who proclaimed he was a god, an unsymmetrical boy who was obsessed with symmetry and a bald kid with glasses that seemed to know everything.

She knew the basics and understood a lot more than she expected. Jonah took notes the entire time while Lucas looked lost. She knew very well they'd have to explain this to him.

She was already starting to like it here.

* * *

**Okay, that ending was really bad but I really need to get on with my life. I'm starting to write the next chapter now. It's shorter than usual but whatever. **

**There's a reason that I used the Dentist song. Neo is based off of myself. When I'm nervous, I sing. In school, in real life, I play Ronnette-well one of them, two other girls share the part with me-in my school's production of Little Shop of Horrors. When I first saw the movie, that was the song that I just couldn't get out of my head. I still love it and it upsets me that I'm not the group that performs when that song is on. **

**By the way, Merry Christmas! I hope you spend your well and you get lots of love and presents. Sing Christmas carols, watch Christmas movies, dress like an elf like a boss... or whatever you'd dress as. I'm going to be an elf. **

**See ya!**


	5. The Meeting

**The Meeting: Getting Lost in the DWMA**

* * *

Neo, Lucas and Jonah were actually on time for the second day of school, taking their seats.

It was established that Jonah and Artemis would forever be at each others throats with the excuse that Jonah was an asshole and Artemis was a bitch. Both of which were true depending on the person who the perspective from.

"Hi." Artemis greeted, ignoring Jonah completely.

He didn't mind and said hello to Matthew. Matthew smiled. "Hello, Jonah!"

Artemis glared at him for about three seconds. "I hate you."

He pouted a bit and averted his eyes. She also had a tendency of dominating him.

Lucas put an arm around him. "It's okay, hun. She doesn't mean it."

Lucas also found Matthew to be a cute little toy to play with. Now, Matthew was Lucas's toy. It's actually very funny to watch in the girls' eyes. Jonah felt bad for him though. He knew how bad his pseudo-twin could get.

Matthew blushed at Lucas's actions and gently moved his arm. Lucas pouted but got the hint, secretly smirking in his mind. He was fun to play with indeed.

Class started a few minutes later and Jonah paid full attention. Lucas was drawing a design based off of their teacher and Neo was mostly listening, blanking out every few seconds to sing in her mind. The song Primadonna by Marina and the Diamonds was stuck in her head and she hummed a little when she wasn't careful.

As much as she loved to learn-even more so than Jonah, which did say something-she never paid full attention. Not even if it would benefit her and the people around her.

She pursed her lips, watching Stein teach. He had a personality she'd never had in a teacher and was excited to see how this would turn out. To be honest, he was bonkers. Completely and utterly.

Lucas was scared of him. But then again he was of people who could dissect animals. Jonah was a little creeped out by him but respected his teachings.

On the other hand, that didn't bother her. Not one bit. Not even his dormant madness which she sensed being near him bothered her. Because she had it too. It'd be like shunning one of her own kind.

He was human. Obviously. A meister. The best ever graduated apparently. She was a witch but it wasn't weird to see his madness. She welcomed it. It made her feel like she wasn't the only person in the world trying to suppress it.

She became a meister to get rid of it but would never let herself fall. She had people who she loved, a girl to take care of, a pair of weapon partners who she trusted more than she could ever say. She did her best to control it. She forgot about it constantly because of how long she'd been fighting.

Neo took out her chap stick and placed some on her lips. She rubbed her lips together to get better coverage. She blew a few bangs out of her face.

_Focus! You're in school to learn! Oh... what's that?_ she thought, her eyes following a tiny speck of dust highlighted by the light coming from the windows.

She felt like slapping herself. Who's she kidding? She's hopeless.

* * *

Neo ran through the halls trying to find her next class. Sadly, she distracted herself and like most of the times she's ever been to Macy's or Walmart, she distracted herself and got lost.

She turned through random corridors and slipped on her foot. She yelped but spun horizontally in mid-air and landed in a push-up position. She moaned as she helped herself up to her feet, picking up the glasses that fell and putting them back on her face.

A group made their way behind her. She turned and almost crashed into the boy. Her eyes widened before she could and she almost tripped again. He reached out and grabbed her wrist to balance her.

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry!"

The boy made sure she was steady then removed his hand. "It's quite alright. Are you lost?"

She chuckled nervously. "Is it that obvious?"

He smiled. "It is."

He was rather good-looking.

Pale white with a yellow tint and ringed golden eyes that had the inner part darker than the outer. He was a little taller than her by about two inches and was lean, a little on the lanky side. He wore a black suit with white rectangles on it in a symmetrical fashion and a metallic skull resting under his collar. She noticed that the only thing unsymmetrical on him was his hair. Pitch black but it had three perfectly straight, pearly white lines on the left side.

She recognized him as the kid who was obsessed with symmetry. They called him what. Kid? Something like that?

The two girls behind him wore similar cowgirl inspired outfits that made Neo want to laugh. No real cowgirl would wear that but she ahd to admit it was rather cute. They wore tight sleeveless red turtleneck belly shirts with a white tie, cowboy hats and black high-heeled boots.

The taller one had dark blonde hair that reached her mid-back, dark blue eyes and tanned skin. She was less-endowed than the other which was weird considering she looked older. She wore silver bangles and long jeans.

The shorter one had chin-length, bright yellow hair with bangs, light blue eyes and lighter, rosier skin. She was in fact more endowed than the other girl. She wore a pair of puffy shorts instead of jeans and her wrists were bare.

The taller one waved with a smile. "I'm Liz."

The shorter one giggled and gave Neo a mock-salute. "I'm Patty! Nice to meet you."

Neo smiled back back at them. "Noelani but call me Neo."

The boy bowed his head a bit. "I'm Death the Kid. I prefer Kid though."

Neo got a crazy idea and voiced it. "Have you ever pretended to be James Bond and used your name?"

He shook his head, a dark eyebrow raised. She held up her hands. "That'd be epic you name fits." She then pretended to have cufflinks. "Kid. Death the Kid. Dude, that'd be amazing."

Patty clapped her hands. "That would be cool!"

Neo nodded. "Right?"

Liz laughed a bit. "Kid wouldn't do that. He's too prissy. Besides it'd make him unsymmetrical for a few seconds."

Neo smirked. "But the result would be symmetricality if he does it the right way."

Liz pursed her lips. "Point taken."

Neo winked playfully. "Anyway, how do I get to lunch? Lucas was being dragged by Jonah who claimed to know where he was going."

Kid answered. "We're heading there just now. You can feel free to come with us."

Neo's eyes brightened. "Really? Thanks!"

She hugged each of them. Patty and Liz returned to hugs while Kid felt a little awkward. Patty grinned. "You're from New York, right?"

They started walking. Neo smiled. "Yeah. Born and raised. Man, this palce is so different from there. The streets are actually somewhat cleaner."

Liz knew what she meant. "That was weird for me too. New York is dirty with all the people that live there. Patty and I are from Brooklyn."

Neo nodded. "Cool."

Kid sighed. "You're unsymmetricality is bothering me, Neo."

Liz sighed. "And here we go."

Neo blinked before shrugging, an apologetic smile on her face. "Sorry. I can't fix that. Considering I'm naturally unsymmetrical-the beauty marks on my face-I never really tried."

She didn't mention the stripes since she saw him break down. She'd rather not cause that to happen. It seemed to bother him a lot more than he let on. He looked at her face for a few seconds and heaved a sigh. "I guess I see why."

She bit her lip. She didn't mean to make him sad. She smiled once more. "You can fix my hair though."

He stopped and stood in front of her. "Really?"

She nodded. "Knock yourself out, buttercup."

His cheeks turned a little pink at the pet name. "Uh... thanks."

She stood still as he fixed her bangs. She noticed that his fingers were warm in comparison to her forehead. His eyes were actually very pretty up close. Bright, warm and some what intimidating. She decided she liked his eyes.

They looked like scopes. Like the ones she saw in the video games she played with the boys when she was bored. Maybe they worked that way...

"Done," he announced, stepping back to admire his work.

She tried see them but gave up in seconds. She trusted his work. "Alright! To the cafeteria!"

He chuckled but obliged, leading her to the cafeteria. She gave a secret smile. If people here were like them and Artemis and Matthew, she'd fit in easily.

* * *

Neo walked around the school building, trying to find the exit. For the third time, she got lost in the building. This time she actually had a map though. She was just a little confused as to where she was.

She found a classroom and smiled when she saw the name. "Class Midnight Sun."

Another one of the EAT Classes. That meant she was near her homeroom. From there, it'd be easier to leave. Jonah left for his job. Lucas was going to get Levi like he did the day before. She needed to get to work. Across her body was messenger bag with her uniform inside.

She found a pair of people walking in the opposite direction she was walking towards her. She contemplated going up to them and asking them for help. Well, the worst was that they could ignore her but they could help.

She decided to do so and she walked up to them shyly. She had a terrible tendency of being shy around strangers even if after a while she turned out to be crazy and loud.

They stopped upon seeing her and she smiled. "Uh... can you tell me where Class Crescent Moon is? I'm lost... again."

They were a boy and a girl.

The boy had spiky blue hair, tan skin and green eyes with a blueish hue. He was taller than Neo by about an inch. He was rather muscular for someone that looked to be her age. He wore a sleeveless back shirt with a funnel-like collar, pants that are half white and half black and black boots with white tips and a star on the toe of each of them. He had two strips of gray matreial with rivets on his shirt and the same material around his neck like a scarf. He also wore gray finger less gloves with wrist weights, a band going across it with a star. He had a star tattoo on his right arm a shade lighter than his skin.

She mentally sighed. _Is every boy here taller than me? I used to be taller than a few boys back home. Now, this makes me feel bad_. She thought.

The girl was as tall, maybe a little taller than Liz. She was even more endowed than Patty if it was possible and extremely attractive. She had long black hair tied up in a ponytail, pale skin and large indigo eyes. She had a sleeveless pale yellow outfit that resembled a kimono and a bright yellow star on the right side of her chest. She wore a dark drown scarf and one stocking on her right leg of the same color. She wore white boots and a sash made of the same material the boy used as a scarf.

The boy smiled and let out an arrogant sounding laugh. "Sure, I'll tell you! I'm your god of course, the almighty Blackstar!"

Neo smiled, an amused look on her face. ...And that could explain the star motiff.

The girl bowed to Neo. "Sorry for his behavior, I'm Tsubaki. Class Crescent Moon is that way," she said, pointing in the direction they came from.

Neo's eyes widened. "Tsubaki means Camellia in Japanese. So, I'm guessing you are then."

This made them both stare wide-eyed at the meister. Tsubaki nodded. "Yes, it does and I am."

Neo put on a serious expression. "You know that people say Camellia blossoms are the flower without a fragrance."

This put both of them on edge. Neo giggled at their response. "I'm joking! I don't think that!"

She grabbed a piece of Tsubaki's hair and sniffed. "You smell rather nice actually." she stated.

Blackstar laughed, putting an arm around Neo. "I like you!"

She returned the faover. "I like you too!"

She got out of his grip a little reluctantly. Like Kid, he was warm. "I have to go to work. I'll see you around!"

They both nodded and Tsubaki smiled. Neo waved while she walked away. They did so as well.

When she found the door to Class Crescent Moon, she looked down at her map and set off for the exit. She could be late if she didn't hurry.

* * *

The witch burst into the cafe, a minute late to her job. She had a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I'm late!" she called.

Matthew, who was serving to a couple, shook his head but smiled at her, gesturing for her to change. She ran into the changing room.

Shit, I'm late! she thought.

It was rare the time she was late for work. It was like school for her. She didn't want to miss out on anything she could learn. Wow, she really was a nerd.

Or as Lucas would say, an intellectual badass.

She changed into her uniform quickly, shoving her clothes unceremoniously into the messenger bag. She walked out, still adjusting her head piece. She wore the shorts and her regular jewelry. Master permitted the shorts since they weren't too different from the skirt.

She pursed her lips. Master looked at her. "You're late."

She sighed and looked at the ground. "I got lost in school. I swear they should have signs."

Master chuckled. "Sure. There's a table over there."

She looked where he was gesturing to and she smiled, grabbing a pad and pen. She flipped it in her hands and put it behind her ear. She saluted. "I'll handle it."

She noticed that it wasn't as full as it the day before. Probably because Tuesday is an awkward day. Monday is the first day you have to go to school in the week, Wednesday is the middle of the week, Thursday is the day before Friday, Friday is the beginning of the weekend, Saturday is a ful day of doing whatever you wanted to and Sunday was the day before Monday. Tuesday was just so awkward in her opinion. That's why it was awesome.

She strut over to the table with practiced steps of a waitress and shot them smiles. There were three people about her age.

A girl with ashy blonde hair in pigtails, big, olive green eyes and creamy fair skin. She was slender from what Neo could see and didn't look much taller than her. She wore a black and red pleated miniskirt, a white blouse, a silver and green tie, a pale yellow vest and black and white boots with buckles. She was talking to the person on her left.

The person was actually almost ambiguous in gender. Short, choppy, lavender-pink hair, pale white skin with a hint of gray and big, powder blue eyes. The person wore a black old-fashioned robe/dress with white cuffs that would make Luacs pass out. They also wore matching slipper-like shoes with the same cuffs.

There was a boy on the blonde's right. He had spiky, white hair, tan skin and crimson red eyes. He wore a head band that said Soul and E-A-T on it with a mouth. He had on a yellow and black varsity jacket, crimson pants and yellow and black shoes. He opened his mouth in a sarcastic smile and revealed sharp, shark-like teeth.

_Albino_, she thought instantly.

She stood in front of the table, right hip sticking out, pen in hand and poised to write. She smiled. "So, can I get you guys anything to drink?"

They all looked at her and the blonde's eyes widened. The boy was the one who spoke first though. "You're the new girl."

Neo grinned. "I see that, Hotstuff. Now, can I get you anything to drink?" she repeated.

He blushed a bit at the name that he'd never recieved before. "Coffee. Regular milk, sugar."

She scribbled on the pad and looked at the blonde and pinkette. The blonde pursed her lips. "Crona and I will have caramel lattes."

Neo wrote that down as well when a black thing appeared in mid-air. Neo opened her mouth to say something and looked at the thing calmly.  
It had spikes on the shoulders and it was very small. It had white, ping-pong ball-like eyes with x's in them, a huge white X where the nose should be and no mouth. It had white circles for hands. IT was also coming out of the pinkette's back.

She licked her lips. "Please tell me that he's there and I'm not hallucinating," she said.

The blonde, pinkette and albino stared at Neo in shock. They'd expected her to run screaming. The thing somehow materialized a mouth. "I'll have black coffee with sugar." he said, his voice inhuman and high.

She shrugged and wrote that down as well. The blonde nodded. "Yeah, he's real."

Neo smiled. "Good. I thought my imagination had run away from me. I hallucinate sometimes. I once thought that a Thanksgiving napkin with a turkey on it was dried blood. It was really weird and it freaked me out. I'll be back with your orders."

Neo walked away and smiled to herself. The little black thing was so cute!

She went to the back and prepared the coffee expertly. When her mother couldn't make coffee because she was tired, Neo would do it. That and Matthew stayed later with her the day before to show her how to make coffee.

She placed them on one tray, wondering on how the little black thing would hold the cup unless he was planning to put it on the pinkette's head.

She went back out and balanced the tray with coffee using one hand. Matthew held the door open for her and she smiled at him. She walked back to the table, setting down the drinks for each person. "Okay, here you go. Y'all want something to eat or what?"

The blonde smiled. "Sure and thanks."

Neo winked at her. "Cool."

The blonde cleared her throat a bit. "I'd like to introduce us. I'm Maka, that's my partner, Soul," he gave her a wicked grin, "my best friend, Crona," the pinkette waved, "and her partner, Ragnarok."

Neo perked up and started spouting random nonsense. "Ragnarok... the end of the world in Norse Mythology. Heralded by the dragon, Nidhogg and the Fimbrulvinter, it's a time of destruction when all the gods die and the world is covered in water but from it will come a new world."

The four stared in shock. Soul laughed. "That makes sense."

Maka nodded. "It does."

Crona smiled. "That's so ironic."

Neo grinned. "Sorry for rambling and the random history lesson. So, what would ya like?"

Ragnarok ordered first. "Chocolate cream puffs."

Neo smirked as she wrote that down. "I like your taste, pumpkin. Next?"

Crona looked nervous but ordered. "Uh... b-b-biscotti."

Neo cocked her head. "What kind? We have chocolate, cinnamon, almonds and others that I have not memorized yet."

Crona cracked a smile at this. "Almond, please."

Neo's smile grew. "There ya go! You have such a pretty smile. Such a shame to hide it. Besides, there's nothing to be afraid of... well, not now anyway."

She did mean it. The person, a girl she presumed from the voice and name, had such a sweet innocence. Like Levi. She was so pretty as well. It made her lovelier.

Maka giggled. "Apple pie."

Neo scribbled it down. "A classic for a girl as classic as the treat itself."

Soul chuckled. "Classic? Please. She wouldn't know classic if it hit her in the face."

Maka materialized a book and prepared to hit him with it. Neo snorted. "Oh, honey, she has a book. She can look it up for all she wants to. I have my own opinions on what classic is. So, unless you want to tell me what it is-the classic I'm referring to is of the first or highest quality, class or rank-shut your face hole, shark boy."

Ragnarok and Maka laughed at him, putting away the book where ever it came from. Crona looked at to see if he was offended and he grumbled. Neo smirked, her voice sickly sweet. "So, love, what can I get you?"

Maka ordered for him, knowing her partner. "Blueberry turnover, please."

Neo bobbed her head and waved. "I'll be back with your snacks."

She heard Ragnarok tease Soul for being pwned by a girl. Pwned, indeed.

She went behind the counter and picked sweets, placing them on little white plates.

She made a mental note to bring something sweet for Jonah. He would be tired from working at the store. Jonah wasn't cut out for working at a store. He was cut out for doing paperwork and using his brain. Her little treat. And one for Levi as a gift and one for Lucas because Lucas was awesome.

She went back to table and like last time, held the tray in one hand. She sauntered foward, her hips swishing as she hummed the song stuck in her head all day.

She placed the plates in front of each person who ordered it and smiled apologetically at Soul. "Sorry, that was a little out of line."

He smiled back. "It's okay. I like your spunk. What's your name?"

She gestured to her name tag. "Noelani but call me Neo."

He smirked. "Sure."

She picked up the tray again and saluted them. "Ta ta~! Call me if you need me, doves!"

This left them laughing and she skipped away. She smiled at Master. "So, how'd i do?"

He smiled. "Very well."

She walked to the counter and jumped over it. "Hey, can I bring home a couple pastries? I'll pay for it."

He shook his head. "You don't have to pay, you know."

She rolled her eyes. "That'd be like stealing. My mom taught me better. Besides," she leaned against the counter, eyes fluttering dramatically and a hand over her heart, "the guilt would eat me alive and I wouldn't be able to face my reflection without destroying to mirror so I wouldn't be able to go take a shower or go to the bathroom. My life would suck."

He shook his head at her drama. She grinned. She looked at the pastries. "We're running a little low. I'll go make some more if you don't mind."

Master raised an eyebrow. She shrugged. "Wouldn't want the other customers not to have sweets?! That would be diabolical."

He shooed her with his hand. As a test yesterday, she was asked to make pastries which she did easily. She was capable of following directions and had a fair hand at baking. She liked to bake with Levi and the boys. She, for the two birthdays she spent with him, made pastries for Jonah along with whatever else she got him. If he didn't like it, the pastries were a back up.

She washed her hands. She put on gloves and took cinnamon rolls out of the oven. She placed them on the counter to cool. She'd put them in the display case later.

She looked at the pastry counter once more before nodding. "I'm gonna make a Bundt cake, okay?"

Master nodded. "Don't get too dirty. You'll have to go back to get their check."

She waved her hand through the air when she saw a familiar person.  
Shoulder-length black hair, green eyes and fair skin. Dressed in a black and white letterman jacket with an A on it, a green t-shirt, black jeans, finger less gloves and black sneakers. Slender but not stick thin and short, she strolled into the room and poked Matthew in the face before walking to the counter to see Neo.

Neo grinned. "Aloha, Arty."

Artemis grinned back. "Shalom, bitch."

Neo blew hair out of her face. "I have to go make a cake so... do shit."

Artemis moaned. "I don't wanna! I got kicked out of Death Records today because I can't annoy Jonah!"

Neo smirked. "Yeah, that makes sense. I would let you back her but I don't know if Master would let me so... yeah."

Master shook his head. "Sorry. Unless you work here. You have to stay."

Artemis sighed. "Fine."

Master quickly fixed the problem. "Well, Neo stay with her for now. You have a table to finish serving anyway."

They smiled at him as he walked to the back. Neo looked at her friend. "So... do you like waffles?"

Artemis nodded, picking up the signs. "Yes, I like waffles."

"Do you like pancakes?"

"Yes, I like pancakes."

"Do you like french toast?"

"Yes, I like french toast."

"Do do do do do. Can't wait to get a mouthful! Do you like waffles?"

They stopped there and laughed. Neo peeked at her table and sighed. "Well, I have to go clean the table and get their check. Don't murder someone while I'm gone." she playfully scolded.

Artemis put her arms across her chest. "I will make no such promises."

Neo punched their orders into the cash register and waited for it to print before taking it and putting it in a tiny folder. She rolled her eyes, grabbed a tray and walked to the table. "So? Y'all done?"

They nodded. Neo placed the little folder down, letting Soul take it. She began to put the used plates and cups onto the tray. Soul finished putting the money inside. Maka gave her three dollars as a tip. Neo smiled and winked at her once more.

"Farewell, young childrens! Don't get run over by chickens!" Neo called.

They waved their goodbyes. Neo gave them a saucy two-fingered salute shoved the money into her apron, grabbed the little folder and made her way to the counter. She put the dirty dishes in their places to be washed later and placed the money in the cash register.

Artemis watched, a slightly bored look on her face. Neo reached over to poke Artemis' cheek and succeeded, smirking. "Well, miss," Neo started teasingly, "May I take your order?"

* * *

**Well... that was updated quicker than I ever imagined it'd be. Seriously, I'm on a roll this week! Two different things! I feel like such a boss. **

**I noticed something a few days ago that made me slap myself. Neolani's name is actually supposed to be Noelani. You get a cookie if you noticed the different way I spelled it. It's supposed to be Noe for short but that will make my life hard so I'll just keep Neo. I'll make a story for that later. **

**The action's about to start! I'm so excited! Crona's gonna be a girl in this story by the way. Partly because I like Fem!Crona and partly because I want Lucas to have fun *coughforeshadowingcough*.**

**Ragnarok is relevent! I'm so excited to make him epic! Lots of headcanon so prepare yourselves! Patty and Liz are also going to be crucial since I don't like what happened in the manga when Liz and Patty got a chance for character development but didn't. Sooooo... it's my duty as a Soul Eater fangirl and fan fiction author to share my thoughts. **

**Since I won't right anything for it, Happy New Years! **

**I'd love to hear what your resolution is! Mine is to be able to do a back bend, a split, a handstand and a cartwheel by the end of 2013. **

**Peace, Love and Save the Turtles!**


	6. The Dream

**The Dream: How is a Raven Like a Writing Desk?**

* * *

Neo smirked at her co-worker, Artemis smirking beside her as well. "So, Matthew, tell me how is a raven like a writing desk."

Matthew looked at her with a confused expression. "What?"

Artemis rolled her eyes as if she'd already lost her patience. "How is a raven like a writing desk?"

Matthew crinkled his nose and Neo smirked. "That's so cute! It's like your a rabbit... or a hare."

Artemis and Neo smirked at each other. This is what happened when they talked about Alice in Wonderland. Lucas actually went cross-eyed when they talked to him and Jonah answered correctly which ruined their dreams. When they asked Crona, she looked adorably confused and it made Neo hug her. Ragnarok was asleep during that so he didn't answer.

For whatever reason, she drifted towards Crona. Jonah told her what it was. They told her Crona had been sheltered off so she didn't know many things. Neo thought that watching Crona smile when she showed the girl something new was great. Neo found something familiar about Crona but didn't know what it was. Apparently, Neo taught Crona more things in the past week than her friends did in the months they knew it. Possibly because Neo referenced every single thing she liked.

The weapon blushed and stared at them. "I... I don't know. Wait! Is it they both start with an R?"

The two girls snickered. Master rolled his eyes at the sight. "Matthew, writing desk starts with a W. The answer is that they aren't alike. I read Alice in Wonderland for my niece."

Neo pouted. "Aww! You ruined our fun!"

Master shook his head. It was a Wednesday and it was surprisingly empty. Neo had only been there for an hour and a half in her three hour period and all she did was bake. Matthew took the one table. Not that she really minded.

Neo recently read Alice in Wonderland. Fully, this time. She started once but didn't finish because Jonah needed it for an English assignment so she forgot about it. She picked it up once more and actually read it. She loved the Mad Hatter, March Hare, Dormouse and Alice.

Artemis shook her head, turning her attention back to Neo. "So, am I still coming over?"

They had made plans for Artemis to come over to her newly finished adorned apartment. Jonah didn't know and Levi didn't either so it was a surprise for the two of them.

Neo nodded. "Yep! After we come back from getting our first soul."

It was funny to her. They were getting their first soul that was actually documented. The three of them were used to stumbling across one, kicking their ass then walking away as if nothing happened. This was an entirely new concept and even though Jonah seemed to prefer it over their old one, he was surprisingly slow.

That was normal for him. He wasn't very... flexible. He was happy about moving to Death City but it took him a while to realize he was actually leaving. He was like a child in that aspect. But other than that, he was fine.

Artemis grinned. "I remember my first soul. Matthew tripped and found it. HE then almost failed to transform out of pure fear and embarassment. It was hilarious."

Matthew flushed once more. "S-Shut up."

Neo smirked. "So it's true. Let's hope mine is that memorable."

Artemis shot a devious smile. "Trip Jonah for me."

Neo rolled her eyes, not saying anything. Unlike Artemis, she wasn't cruel to Jonah with no reason... but when he gave her a reason to be, she'd make him wish he didn't.

Sure, she liked to tease him but she wouldn't do that on purpose. He'd get hurt and that would give them away. She preferred a quieter approach until she attacked. That would ruin their plan terribly.

Matthew scolded his partner. "That isn't nice."

Artemis snorted, standing. "I don't care. He's a jackass."

She grabbed her school bag and hiked it up her shoulder. "Well, enough about the leprecaun. I gotta go. See you later."

Neo smiled. "I'll call."

The meister walked out the door while Matthew looked at Neo apologetically. "Sorry about her behavior."

Neo shrugged with a smile. "Nah! That doesn't bother me." She looked at the clock. "I have to get to the boys. Wait for me to call okay?"

Matthew nodded, moving to let Neo get to the changing rooms. She saluted before disappearing into it.

* * *

Jonah and Lucas were in seax mode while Neo ran over rooftops to reach their latest target. Neo was trying to find it because of its particular "frequency" of madness. Kishin all either have or pass a certain level of madness that makes them Kishin.

People-everyone-has madness. Witches are known for sensing it like Kishin. Kishin are attracted to a Witch's wavelength like they are to a Kishin's. Whether they know it or not.

Neo managed to channel it with her grandparents' help and could know use it like certain meisters could use Soul Perception. Neo didn't have Soul Perception but she didn't mind. It wasn't like she needed it all that much.

She stopped and a huge grin adorned her face and though she couldn't see it, she knew Lucas had a matching one. She loved the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She'd said it many times, she would admit it and wasn't afraid to: she loved the thrill of the chase.

Sure, the prize of whatever she was "chasing" was a reward but nothing beat that feeling.

The Pre-Kishin was a woman like the file said. Age 20 nicknamed the Merry Murderess. The name made her and the younger West brother giddy. They loved Chicago.

The elder just rolled his eyes and took the file, reading the information with golden-hazel eyes.

Her beauty and youth made Neo feel a surge of pity and a dull ache in her heart. What had drove this girl to consume human souls?

Pale skin, platinum blonde ringlets, gray eyes the same shade a mirror was. It really was tragic.

Jonah sighed, guessing her thoughts through her wavelength and behavior. He mutter just loud enough for her to hear, "This isn't a time to have a heart. Get over it."

She sighed. He was right. He usually was. Lucas giggled. "It's okay, Elfie! When we get home, we have guests to prepare for! And Levi's expecting that movie!"

Neo smiled. "Almost forgot."

It was an unspoken tradition that began a couple years before and was never broken. Neo would watch a movie to her mind off of the latest soul she'd collected. She naturally had a rather guilty conscience. Especially when it can to things like this,

Neo giggled loudly to get the serial killer's attention._ 'Cause most people do that on a regular basis._ she thought sarcastically.

When she did, Neo smiled. She hopped off the building, a surprising grace kicking in. She wasn't graceful until she did something that required it.

Neo balanced herself on the balls of her feet. Lucas and Jonah were tucking away in her pockets.

The Merry Murderess didn't know what it was but she didn't want to get near this girl. Not even to eat her soul.

Her wavelength... fluid mostly but every once in a while it snagged. A sign of dormant madness. But that wasn't all. It was like... she was hiding something. Her eyes widened. "A witch." she whispered.

Neo cocked her head in an attempt to look innocent. "So, you're a Pre-Kishin, right?"

The Merry Murderess nodded. "What of it?"

Neo smirked. "You ameteur."

Neo ran forward, seaxes flashing. The blonde tried to take them away or catch her. Neo twirled out of the way, flipped the knives in her hands and stabbed into her flesh. On at her collarbone, the other at her stomach.

Neo did a back handspring followed by a cartwheel to distance herself for her next move. Neo stuck out a hip. "Hun, if you were an expert at this, you wouldn't be so naive. To tell a random girl who you really are. Meisters live around here, you know?"

Realization dawned on her and Neo's smirk grew. "Yep. Lucas! Tomahawk mode!"

Lucas grinned, his voice making the Kishin jump a foo tin the air. He transformed quickly and Neo ran forward.

The Merry Murderess held up her arms for an attack that never came. Neo lightly flipped over her and used her forearms to propell herself higher. She ran to distance herself once more.

Neo bending his soul wavelength, putting pressure on it so his power increased. He recognized the move she planned to do and willingly let her take control over his wavelength.

His blade glowed bright blue-green and she grinned. She slashed the air, yelling, "Azure-hawk!"

The second the swipe was completed, a huge crescent shape had appeared and sliced the blonde from her left shoulder to her right hip, blood pouring out of the wound.

Wavelengths were deadly. Used the right way, it could become a weapon like a knife. It took forever for Neo to learn but she got the hang of it.

Lucas transformed into a fan and let Neo stash him in her pocket again. She flipped Jonah in the air, catching him. "Shilelagh, please."

Jonah smirked. "On it."

The Merry Murderess watched her in shock. A witch wasn't supposed to go against a Kishin! She wasn't supposed to be a meister!

Before she could react, Neo dated forward, doing the same procedure she did with Lucas to Jonah. She jumped up and brought the club behind her head. The knob glowed the same blue-green. She brought the club to hit the Pre-Kishin's shoulder, successfully breaking it while injecting some of their soul wavelength.

Neo backed up, putting him in his fan mode into her other pocket. "So... any questions?"

The Merry Murderess grasped her shoulder desperately. "Who are you?!"

Neo giggled. "Fairy Blue at your service!"

Neo controled her own soul wavelength, shoving her hand into the blonde's chest and grasping the soul. Neo watched as her face contorted with fear and pain. Somehow, she didn't feel any pity. This really was making her heartless.

Lucas and Jonah transformed back into humans. Neo handed the soul to Lucas who threw it into the air and opened his mouth. It fell into his face hole and he devoured it. He lifted his arms into a V then grinned. "Thanks, Fairy."

Neo rolled her eyes. "Time to get home!" She moved her head back to face the sky and grinned. "CHALLENGE COMPLETED!" she yelled.

* * *

Neo sat down at the dinner table while Jonah placed their Chinese take out on the table. She sighed. "That wasn't very nice."

Artemis smirked. "It was hilarious!"

Earlier that day, Artemis was ticked off because of something Jonah said to her. So, she being the very nice person she is (Note the sarcasm), she took her anger out on Kid, deliberately calling him asymmetrical.

Here's how it went down.

_Artemis walked up to Kid with bored eyes while Neo stared with wide eyes full of horror. She knew exactly what would happen. She had dreamed of it some time ago. _

_"You're asymmetrical, you ugly bastard."_

_Kid's eyes grew as wide as saucers before he broke down, tears streaming down his face, yelling "I'm asymmetrical garbage!" at the top of his lungs. _

_Artemis stared, laughing mentally while Patty quickly came to his rescue. "You're not trash! Trash smells bad! You don't smell bad!"_

_Kid looked at her, snot dripping down his nose. "Really?"_

_She nodded and Artemis snickered at his face. "You're a pansy, Kid."_

Neo felt incredibly guilty for not doing anything but got over it quickly. As long as he was fine, she'd be okay. but it still made her feel bad.

Matthew sighed. "This is what happens when I'm not around?"

Neo nodded. "Yup!"

Jonah shook his head. "You really are a mean person, aren't you?"

Lucas pouted. "Aww. That's not nice... but did he look cute?"

Artemis shot him a look that said 'If you seriously expect an answer, I will rip your balls off'. Lucas held up his hands in surrender before he opened containers and loaded his plate with food.

The rest followed suit while Levi slipped into the chair next to Neo, grabbing a napkin and placing it in her lap like the princesses she watched in movies. Neo grinned at her. "Hello, Levi. You hungry?"

Levi smiled shyly and nodded. Neo snorted as she remembered something crucial. "Right. Arty, Matthew, meet Levi. Levi, meet my new friends Matthew and Artemis."

Artemis waved while Matthew smiled at her. Levi giggled. "Hiya! I'm Levi!"

Artemis smiled at her cuteness. "Artemis."

Matthew bowed his head politely. "Matthew."

Lucas grinned. "They've already fallen under her spell."

Neo's lips stretched into a matching grin. "Yes, they have."

Matthew's eyes widened. "What?"

Jonah rolled his eyes, swallowing his food before speaking. "Levi's adorable, right? We haven't met a single person who hasn't said that. They believe it's some sort of 'witchcraft'. I think it's just because she's charming."

Artemis gasped dramatically. "You just said something that didn't make you sound stupid!"

He snorted, shooting her a glare but not saying anything. Levi giggled at this. "Another person doesn't like Jonah?"

Lucas nodded. "Yep."

Levi knew about Jonah's unpopularity with people. Cold and painfully honest but no one stayed long enough to know about his nice nature. No one really suspected a sense of humor either.

Levi smiled at Artemis. "Why not? Jonah's so nice."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Nice?"

She nodded. "Yeah! He's my big brother! I love him! It's a little weird when he asks me t wake up Lucas though."

The meister cocked her head. "What?"

Neo answered. "Lucas is a jackass in the morning. Levi, don't repeat that."

Levi nodded. "Okay, Sissy!"

Lucas elaborated. "Yeah, I'm not a morning person. Never have been. I actually hurt people when I'm half-asleep. I'm the most agressive and rude then. Especially when I'm still tired. Jonah's usually at the end of getting punched. Neo feels my vocal wrath... and occasional hit."

Neo smirked. "The pure witchcraft of Levi's abilities comes from this because we can send her in there and Lucas will stop trying to be a jerk to her at least. Levi, show 'em what you do."

Levi nodded and stood up, turning to Lucas. "Luki... wakey, wakey! I'm here to wake you up because Jonah doesn't want to get hurt oday! And I don't want him to get hurt either! So... wake up, Luki! Neo made breakfast!"

Artemis awwed at the pure cuteness when she said that. Matthew smiled. Artemis snapped out of her thoughts and smirked. "I see why you call it witchcraft. We are going to be great friends, Levi. I can tell."

Levi beamed. "Yay! I have a new friend!"

Levi ran over and hugged Artemis once before waddling back to her seat and eating her food. Her eyes widened in realization. "OH MY GOD! I FORGOT ABOUT ESME! I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON!"

Neo pursed her lips. "Maybe I should stop screaming when I overreact."

Jonah glared at her. "You don't say?"

Levi ran to her room, grabbed something, ran out, closed the door behind her and sat back in her chair, placing a stuffed bear on her lap. "Meet Esme! Short for Esmeralda!"

Esmeralda was a white bear wearing a pink dress and a pink bow on her left ear. The dress itself was a sundress with a halter top. She wore a yellow cardigan as well. The bear had a pink nose and green eyes. That explained the name.

Levi pretended to give the bear some of her food when Neo remembered something as she grabbed a fortune cookie, her food still in her mouth. "Have you ever read your fortune from a fortune cookie then said 'in bed' after it?"

They both shook their heads and Lucas smirked, passing them fortune cookies. "Do it, it's so epic!"

Jonah moaned. "You immature idiots! Don't do that?! Levi's here."

They stuck their tongues out at him. Lucas smirked. "The expedient thing and the right thing are seldom the same thing in bed."

Neo started laughing with Artemis and Lucas, Matthew started to stare at the table to get out of the situation. Neo chewed some of her cookie then spoke. "My turn. If at first you do succeed... try something harder in bed."

They stopped before laughing even harder. Neo snorted. "THAT WAS SO STUPID!" she yelled.

Artemis smirked. "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence in bed."

The laughter didn't even hesitate to fill the room. Jonah rolled his eyes, grabbed his food and went to his room. Artemis nodded. "Why did we not to that earlier?"

Neo shrugged. "Don't know. When Jonah's bored he joins us, he always managed to get the most perverted. It's hilarious. He's in a bad mood right now. Meh. Maybe I'll convince him to do that another time. That doesn't matter now. It's Matthew's turn."

They turned to the innocent weapon who squirmed from under their gazes. He averted his eyes. "I... I can't. I mean... it's not... I-"

Lucas put his arm around Matthew's shoulders. "MATT! Please! I'm begging you."

After about a full minute of Lucas begging and pleading, Matthew gave in. "A-Alright."

He took his fortune and read his tentatively. "An aim in life is the only fortune worth finding... in bed."

Neo starting laughing so much she began to speak and snort, Lucas fell out of his chair from laughing so hard and Artemis laughed at her weapon while pointing at him. The fact that Matthew would actually give in to them and actually say it was hilarious on top of what he just said.

Levi was blissfully unaware of their words and fed Esmeralda and herself. Jonah came back a few minutes later and dumped his trash in the garbage. Artemis looked at Neo. "I think I'm going to help Stein with his next experiment."

Jonah snorted, leaning against the counter. "He didn't even ask."

Artemis glared. "Dream killer," she smiled suddenly, "You deserve to get slapped... in the face..." her face fell, "with a chair."

Jonah put a hand over his heart and mimicked Lucas. "Arty, why are you so mean?"

It was an extremely good impression considering he adopted Lucas's accent and mannerisms. he rolled his eyes then walked into his room once more, bidding his partners, Matthew and Levi goodnight, obviously planning to stay in there.

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "What does he do in there?"

Neo and Lucas gave each other a look then shrugged.

While it was fairly easy to guess what Lucas and Neo did in their rooms, Jonah was a mystery. Neo would either read something, sing, listen to music, write and think of ways to use her camera. She learned something usually and came out spouting nonsense. Lucas was probably designing or studying so he didn't fail in school. He listened to music and took naps often so he wouldn't be as irritable in the morning.

They had no idea what Jonah did.

"Jonah does whatever Jonah does alone in his room."

That was the answer they usually gave and did so in this situation. Matthew gave them a confused look. "Isn't he your partner?"

Neo rolled her eyes. "So? If wanted us to know what he did in there, he'd tell us. I respect that."

Artemis groaned. "That's boring!"

Lucas shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

Levi smiled. "It's okay, Artemis! I'll go ask!"

True to her word, Levi skipped into his room, asked him what he was doing, giggled loudly, walked out, closed the door behind her and joined the rest of them at the table. "He's drawing! Though he's supposed to be doing homework."

Neo was interested. "What's he drawing?"

She looked at Neo with innocent eyes. "A pumpkin carriage! Like in Cinderella! But it looked like something a witch would have!"

Lucas and Neo gave each other a look, immediately knowing what she was referring to. Neo recovered first with a smile. "He's been having weird Princess hallucinations."

Levi nodded, not pushing any further. Artemis snickered. "I knew he was a girl."

This made Neo laugh. She didn't even react to the hallucination part. "He's definitely a boy. He's just my... therapist and I had a weird dream about it. I think he's been thinking about it."

She didn't say anymore and her eyes widened. The girl with pink hair... Crona.

She felt like slapping herself. How did she not see it earlier? Crona who yelled she didn't know how to deal with two boys that looked almost the same.

For the next hour that Artemis and Matthew were there, Neo was a good hostess but was trying to piece more things about her dreams together. Rude as it was, this was crucial to her mental health.

When they left, the first thing Neo did was put Levi into her pajamas. It was only eight but they'd watch some two-hour long movie before Levi went to sleep. It was a rule that Levi went to bed at ten.

Neo put in a movie then went to her room to change into her own pajamas. Her eyes went blank as she stared at her wall.

Why would she dream about a girl she knew now?

She shook her head. She'll think about it later, when she's half-asleep. She thinks best like that.

* * *

_A man walked into a clearing, a book in one hand and a boy on his left, a few steps behind him._

_He was tall with silky black hair and dark purple eyes. He was a few shades darker than herself. He wore a blue, plaid military hat which she found incredibly awesome as well as a white t-shirt, black pants, a black jacket and a flannel shirt around his hips._

_The boy was a lot smaller, pale with indigo eyes and slicked back hair. He wore a white dress shirt, a black vest and dress pants with similar yellow patterns on them._

_The boy looked at the elder with slight admiration in his eyes but didn't say a thing. The man smiled in a way that sent shivers down Neo's spine. That grin was predatory._

_A Kishin Egg suddenly appeared and neither of them seemed remotely fazed. As it ran towards him, face twisted with malice, all the man did was open to a random page in his book. The closer it got, the more his grin grew._

_"Absorption." he said calmly._

_A wind picked up around them and the Kishin Egg was sucked into the book. The boy didn't seem to find this weird and instead smiled. "That was great, Lord Noah."_

_The man who responded to Noah shrugged. Two men entered the clearing._

_One was child-sized, not much taller than Levi, with a long nose and gray hair and moustache. He wore a formal suit with a bow tie and top hat._

_The other had a bland tan skin tone with brown hair and eyes, his hair spiked in a way that looked like blades. He had sharp teeth and lots of piercings. He wore jeans, a sleeveless collar shirt, black boots and a fur-trimmed jacket. He was the same height Noah was._

_The taller man smiled charmingly. "Who are you?"_

_Noah looked at him, giving him a once-over. "Can I help you, sir?"_

_The man's smile grew a little. "What was that little trick you did with the book?"_

_Noah displayed a surprising calm for someone who just found him out while the boy next to him was glaring openly. Noah held out a hand to keep him from doing anything rash. _

_"Nothing really." he lied smoothly. _

_The shorter man glared. "That wasn't nothing, you ridiculous mage."_

_Noah smiled once more. "If that's what you prefer. I prefer the term collecter myself, you see. Since everything is mine."_

_The shorter man growled and opened his mouth to spead but was cut off by Noah. "I'm Noah and this is Gopher."_

_The taller man grinned. "Giriko. Tell me what that book is."_

_Noah held up the book. It was thick with a brown hardcover, embellished gold piping and S-shaped designs. "A grimiore."_

_The shorter man growled. "Obviosly. I'm Mosquito. Which one is it?"_

_Noah smirked. "The Book of Eibon."_

_Mosquito's eyes widened while Giriko whistled. Gopher grinned at their reactions. Mosquito formulated a plan that would involve using the book... even if he needed that stupid sorcerer. "May I ask for your assisstance?"_

_Noah and Giriko stared at the short man curiously. Mosquito explained. "I need your power."_

_Noah pursed his lips. "With what?"_

_"Revenge."_

_Noah raised an eyebrow. "On who?"_

_Mosquito clenched his fists thinking about it. "Lord Death. He killed my mistress."_

_Noah smiled. "Revenge on Lord Death? I'll help. Come with me."_

_The scene changed to a dark room with faded brick walls and a wooden floor._

_"Don't touch her!" a familiar voice yelled. _

_Kid. _

_Crona entered her vision, being dragged away from him, both of them beaten and battered, their clothes torn, blood and bruises covered their skin. she was being dragged by Giriko. She was struggling immensly while a dark liquid poured out of her cuts. _

_Was her blood... black?_

_Her robe was torn so it ended at her knees, her sleeves gone from her shoulders to her elbows, the collar that covered her neck gone completely. She kicked, scratched, scmreaed, her hands reaching for the dark-haired boy and tears streaming down her pale ivory face. _

_Crona sobbed. "Kid, don't leave me!"_

_He couldn't reach her. He pulled against something but couldn't get free. He was being restrained by a white leg cuff attached to the chain which was on the wall that seemed to hurt him more than he loosened it. _

_Giriko laughed. "Don't worry! Your girlfriend will be back in one piece... mostly."_

_This drove Kidto pull even harder against his chain, trying to keep from screaming. He tripped and slammed against the floor, black dots filling his vision. He moaned while Crona tried to reach him. _

_Giriko slapped her and she stopped moving for a few seconds with her eyes glazing over. Like she was paralyzed. He pushed her into a chair and chained her wrists and ankles to it. She stared at him with a submissive expression. She seemed to know what would happen and bit her bottom lip. "Please... don't do this to him."_

_Giriko smirked at how naive she was. "No promises."_

_Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to protest. Giriko pressed a button that dunked her into a crimson red liquid before she could react. _

_Kid looked absolutely terrified. "CRONA!"_

_The perspective changed to Crona's. The liquid he dumped her in stung her every wound, leaving behind the feeling of being stabbed with knives dipped in poison. He mind was fuzzy and everything was confusing her, her screams not only letting liquid into her lungs but confusing her more. Who's screams were those?_

_"What the hell did you put her in? She's terrified!" a familiar but unknown voice yelled. _

_"Medicine."_

_She stopped screaming to realize that those screams were hers. She looked up and waited for the moment that they would let her out of there. If she didn't think about the pain, it siezed to exist. _

_She had to admit that the liquid was strangely sweet. It terrfied her to know that something that hurt her so much could taste so good?_

_She cocked her head curiously. There was a symbol on the ceiling. It was like one of those cult symbols that Neo told her about. It looked black from where she was. Was it there the entire time?_

_Her vision went blurry and her eyelids drooped while her conciousness slipped away a lot faster than she would've liked. What did that symbol mean... and why was it so familiar?_

* * *

Neo sat up straight, clutching her head in fear. "Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god!"

She ripped her blankets off her but did a poor job of it because when she tried to stand, she tripped on them. She untangled them from her legs and looked at her clock. 2:03 AM.

She stood up. What did the dream mean this time? It didn't make any sense to her. Why would she dream about the meeting of four males then about her two newest friends being tortured? Why did she feel like something close to this was going to happen?

She ran to the door, grabbed the handle and began to twist the knob before stopping.

Jonah's asleep. Lucas is alseep.

She sighed.

She'll tell them in the morning. She yawned. Yep. She'd tell them in the morning.

Her notebook caught her eye and she bit her bottom lip. Should I... yes! she thought.

She pounced on it, took a pencil from her desk and began to write another stanza for the beginning of the poem.

**A symbol rises to the surface**  
**of the crimson sweetness that**  
**I have submerged in deep within. **  
**Your destiny isn't so immutable,**  
**anything that you can dream**  
**can also be the fate that you will have.**

She stopped for a second then closed her eyes. They snapped open and she wrote once more.

**Don't try to use deceit on me. **  
**I will not break. **  
**I won't surrender.**

She read it over once then closed it, leaving the pencil next to it. She'd finish some other time. She needs to go to sleep now so she doesn't throw things at people.

Grabbing her stuffed turtle, she turned off the lamp and pulled her blankets over herself. _Sweet dreams_, she thought, hoping no one would dream the same way she did that night.

* * *

**Hmm... I feel bad for waiting so long to post! It's almost been a month. I've been busy with a combination of procrastination with this and a Social Studies project, my school play-which should be on Friday hopefully, (Wish me good luck)-and my attention span which is the size of a pebble.**

**Alright. Let's get a few things straight. **

**1) Many characters in this chapter are out of character. Gopher, Noah, Mosquito and Giriko mostly. Even Artemis-who is my freakin' character-is out of character. She's based off of my best friend The Huntress and Her Prey and I really didn't work with her on this so... yeah. **

**2) When Levi means that Neo made breakfast, this means that she stuck Eggo waffles in the toaster oven. She can make things for lunch and dinner but lacks in the breakfast department. **

**I'll post quicker next time! And hopefully, they'll be more in character. After Friday, I'll have nothing but this to occupy my time with... 'cause I don't have a life. *frowns*. Oh well!**

**Till next time! Hasta la Pasta!**


	7. The Training

**The Training: Meet the Witch Meisters of the DWMA**

* * *

Neo burst through the doors of the Death Room with labored breathing. Lord Death turned sharply to find a disgruntled girl out of breath. She walked forward, her concentration on the holes of his mask where his eyes should be? What did he look like without it?

She shook the thought out of her head. She stood in front of him with her head bowed. "I'm sorry for barging in. I have to ask you something."

It took her several reasons to convince herself to come here so she didn't feel... awkward. She was going to tell him her dream before she even told her partners and this alone made her more nervous than usual. She bit her lip. "What's the Book of Eibon?"

Lord Death cocked his head. "Come again?"

She let out a breath and shakily got another one. "What... is the Book of Eibon?" she repeated with a little more confidence.

He straightened his head. "What brought this on?"

She closed her eyes. "Dream..." she told him about the first half. "Noah had the book. Brown, thick hardcover book with gold piping and S-shaped designs. They said it was a grimoire. What is it?"

The Lord of Death stared. He didn't expect her to find out so quickly. Hardly two weeks and she was already tuned to it. "All of Eibon's knowledge."

She wanted to ask how much and what kind of knowledge but she didn't. "Who's Eibon?"

It sounded familiar to her but she didn't know where from. "He's a sorcerer. The teacher of witches. You see, he knows basically everything. The book is like a physical embodiment of his knowledge."

"So it's like his brain."

Lord Death would've smiled if he could. "You could say that."

Her eyes widened. "Holy crap. That shit's important."

He flinched, not used to her language. Annaka cursed just like that but it'd been years since he'd heard her. Centuries, in fact.

Neo purposely didn't tell him about the second part. Telling you headmaster about the torturing of his son _the second time they talked_ would be very weird and very awkward. She let out a relieved breath. "Curiosity. Sorry again."

Lord Death patted her head. "Already forgiven. Come by any time to talk if you need something."

She smiled brightly. "I'll hold you to that! Later!"

As she skipped out of the room, she grinned to herself. That wasn't so hard!

* * *

Eibon stepped on the stage a second after she walked out. "She's already tied to it, I see."

Lord Death nodded. "I would've expected it to be later. She mentioned the two people who worked with Arachne and two people called Noah and Gopher. I'm assuming they stole the book."

Eibon cocked his head ever so slightly. "We need to start training her for the book before we can formulate a plan to get it."

Lord Death would've grinned at the moment. "You already have one, right?"

Eibon chuckled. "Yes, I do. But we do have to train her in magic."

The reaper sighed. "Yes, yes, we do. While we're at it, we should train the other two witch meisters. Three birds with one stone."

Eibon turned to him. "That should work. When should we start?"

Lord Death clapped his hands together. "After their first class, I'll call them in here! You shall train them here since we have no more room and I don't know anything about training witches."

Eibon shook his head. "You never change. Please do so. I'll get prepare for them."

He walked away a few steps before stopping. "By the way... she was hiding a portion from that dream from you. She's excellent at hiding things."

Lord Death looked at the door. "I didn't notice."

Eibon chuckled. "Just like Annaka. Hiding things she didn't want to reveal if it would hurt you. I'm curious to see if she'll ever trust us enough to tell us."

Lord Death hmmed. "From what I've seen, she probably will."

Eibon walked away without another word. That was more true than his friend would ever realize.

* * *

Neo pushed her glasses up her nose, biting her lip to keep her concentration. Crona, who was sitting on her left, wrinkled her nose. Neo grinned then tapped it playfully. "You're like a little mouse! Well, not little since your about three inches taller than me."

The pinkette looked at her in alarm. She relaxed at Neo's easy, friendly smile that didn't hold any malice. Like Maka's.

Artemis, on the other side of Neo, looked at Crona, remembering something Neo mentioned as a passing thought. She grinned and when the bell rang, she grabbed Crona after getting her things then led her out of the room.

Crona shrunk a little but didn't stop her. "Where are we-"

Artemis chuckled. "Don't worry. You'll be fine..." her voice trailed off, sending shivers down Crona's spine. It reminded her a lot more of Medusa than was okay for her.

Artemis shoved her into a closet, pushed her into a chair and closed the door behind them. She switched on the lights while Crona looked around. "W-W-W-What are we d-doing here?"

Artemis smirked. "Tell me: do you know where babies come from?"

Crona innocently shook her head. "N-N-No."

Ragnarok came out of her back and perched himself on her head. "Well, when a mother and father love each other very much-"

Artemis interrupted. "They don't need to love each other. They just need a reason for fantabulous sex."

Crona furrowed her eyebrows. "What's sex?"

Ragnarok and Artemis shared a look. The weapon sighed. "This... is gonna take a while."

***~*~*~*Two Hours Later*~*~*~***

Crona blankly stared at the wall, shaking uncontrollably, tears close to falling, fear pumping in her veins. Artemis grinned. "And that's how babies are made with vibrators!"  
Ragnarok laughed at her reaction as Neo opened the door. "Crona! There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere! We've been called to the Death Room."

Crona stood up abruptly. Neo smiled. "C'mon... why did you look so scared?"

Artemis shot her a mischievous look. "I taught her where babies come from with a vibrator!"

Neo understood immediately and she pulled Crona behind her. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

Artemis smirked. "Exactly what I did. Don't worry I have experience. I told Matthew."

Crona hid her face behind her hands. "Poor Matthew!"

Neo glared at Ragnarok. "You bum! Why didn't you do anything?!"

Ragnarok chuckled. "I was helping."

Neo growled. "Never mind. Let's go before our asses are kicked. Arty, I will get Jonah to ruin your dreams later! Now, let's go!"

Neo took Crona's wrist and ran with her to the Death Room as fast as they could, Crona easily taking the lead since she was naturally faster and knew a short cut. Ragnarok retreated into her back during this time.

They walked into the room to see Lord Death standing with the pink-haired girl named Kim who was also called and a man (probably) wearing a full-length robe.

He wore a steel mask attached to a protruding hat with a visor, on top of the robe were linear patterned panels accented by metallic plating, from his sleeves were angular projections and a long triple-wrapped scarf. There was also a weird triangular sections that came out of his chest with steel panels shaped into the letter "E".

They walked towards them and Lord Death clapped his hands together. "Good! All of you are here!"

Neo cocked her head with a smile. "Hello again... what am I doing here?"

Lord Death chuckled. "Well... I know that the three of you are witches!"

The man sighed. "That was a terrible way to handle that."

Crona froze from the pure shock that she was a witch, Kim stared horrified and Neo glared, animalistic instincts taking over instead of shock. She growled. Lord Death held up his hands in defense. "Don't worry! I'm not mad! I won't do anything! This is Eibon."

Neo's instincts shut down and her knees buckled. She fell and landed on them, her eyes wide behind her glasses. She froze. "Holy crap... this can't be happening." she mumbled.

Eibon faced her. "It is."

She smiled weakly. "Thought so."

She pulled herself up and smiled brighter. "Sorry 'bout that! So, why is this relevant?"

Lord Death phewed. "He is going to train you! In magic!"

Kim finally reacted. "Wait. What?"

The reaper cocked his hand and held up a finger. "Well, you three are witches but have almost no training. Eibon has trained hundreds of witches and you three will be added to the number. In case of an emergency, we found that if completely necessary, we'll fight fire with fire."

Crona nodded, understanding the tactic. "No one would ever see that coming since no one thinks that witches can be meisters."

Lord Death nodded. "Exactly! So do you agree to this? You will be excused from a class every day for this training and the teachers don't know. All they know is that the three of you have a special class. You don't have to tell anyone about it."

The three girls stared at each other once before answering. Neo grinned. "I'm in!"

Kim cheered. "Woo! I can get out of class! Definitely!"

Crona gave a small smile. "I-I guess I'll try."

Lord Death seemed very excited. "Your training starts... now!"

* * *

Eibon, after moving everything breakable, began their training by making them sit on the ground. He looked at them. "Before we begin, let's get what your powers and familiars are straight so this can go easier."

He faced Neo. "The Turtle Swan witch. Any objections?"

She shook her head. "Nah."

He turned to Kim. "The Racoon Dog witch. Dose this sound right?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

Finally, he went to Crona. "Do you know your familiar?"

She timidly shook her head 'no' and avoided his gaze. "I-I didn't e-e-even know I was a-a-a witch." she stuttered.

He hmmed. "Interesting. Because you're half-witch, your soul seems like a regular person's but what most don't notice is that it is almost Witch Soul Purple. Pinker only because of the human side. Stand."

She did so immediately. He gave her a once-over and muttered a few enchantations. She glowed purple in response which made her cower, hiding her face in her hands for the second time that day. The light disappeared from around her to in front of her.

She spread apart her fingers so her eyes were showing. The light swirled around for a bit then made itself into a shape. Her eyes widened.

A weasel.

Eibon nodded. "So, you're the Weasel witch then."

Crona stared at it for a few seconds. She seemed to grasp it quickly and nodded. "Good. Now, time for the revealing of specialties.

Every witch has at least one specialty in magic. Many don't use it until they have to while others make it one of their best assets. Normally, a witch has about three with a few exceptions due to the nature of the familiar.

Noelani-"

"Neo."

He smiled under his mask. "Neo, you have four. Do you know what they are?"

She pursed her lips. "Combination... Dream/illusion... and Shield. That's all I know."

Eibon let out a breath. "You have Water as well. Did you know that?"

She stared at a random point. "No, I didn't. That would explain a lot. I mean, I remember trying to make pasta and being so bored. I wanted the water to get hotter so the pasta would cook. It worked but I didn't think it was me."

He nodded. "Kim. Do you know?"

She held up a hand and made a motion that signified that she half-knew. "Regeneration and Metal. That's all I got."

Eibon answered for her last one. "Mimicry as well."

She raised an eyebrow. He elaborated. "The Raccoon Dog is known for looking like a dog, a raccoon, a badger and a fox all at the same time. It could pass as each and all to people who don't know. The Raccoon Dog witch takes that by transforming into other people, mimicking voices and even using the same magic. It's like taking a new identity to a new level."

She grinned. "That's awesome."

Eibon chuckled. He looked once more at Crona. "You don't know so I will tell you. You have Shadow, Time and Earth."

She nodded. "Okay."

Eibon took a step back. "It's also natural for every witch to have a knack. Usually based on lineage. Neo, you're an omni-linguist."

Her eyes widened and her face lit up in realization. "Everything makes sense now! I can speak Irish though I've never even tried to learn it! When I'm really angry, I rant in other languages. I remember speaking Arabic once and I didn't even know I knew how to."

Eibon nodded. "See. Kim, yours is natural Medical and Economic Knowledge. Anything ever happen like that?"

She smiled. "Yup! It's like I naturally know how to remedy a wound without any training. When I hear about the Economy, I start spouting ideas that actually sound like they could work for fixing it."

The sorcerer understood. Politicians made him sick. All they had done for the past fifty years or so was spend money that made the country in debt. It annoyed him to no end.

Crona expectantly waited and he cocked his head. "How interesting. Scientific knowledge."

She froze in shock. "N-no wonder. When Stein dissects, I know what he's talking about. Even if I never even learned it."

Eibon walked towards them. "We shall now begin. I'd like you to do the simplest spell you can."

Neo thrust her hand towards Kim. They all stared at her before she explained. "I got a paper cut yesterday and some skin on my pointer finger looks like it's gonna come off. Fix it please!"

Kim understood after paper cut. "Tanunucoon Raccooncoon Ponpon Ponkitanu Pon Pon Pon." she chanted after releasing her Soul Protect.

After a few seconds, the paper cut was gone and the skin healed. Neo grinned. "That's epic. My turn... uh... waffles...?"

She cocked her head. What should she do? What should she do? What should she-bingo! "'Turt Swan Swartuga Tortoise Swantle."

A tiny shield appeared in the palm of her hand. She smirked. "That's how you do things like a boss."

Eibon shook his head while Crona stood awkwardly. She stared at the ground. "I-I don't know if I can."

Eibon let out a breath. "Just breath. Feel the natural magic in your veins. When you're ready, set it free."

She nodded, closing her eyes and breathing slowly. She felt like the world melted away slowly but she didn't mind. She bit her bottom lip anxiously but concentrated on her magic. She felt it pool in her hands and her eyes snapped open, tossing a coin from her pocket into the air. "Pop Pop Weasely Pop Weasel Pop."

It froze it mid-air. She moved her hand and it moved once more to freeze mid-air. Eibon seemed pleased by their results. "Good. That's enough for today since it's only a demonstration. Tomorrow is when everything will start to get harder. Lord Death wanted me to tell you that you are dismissed from school now."

Kim smiled at this, Neo shrugged and Crona bowed respectfully. They all walked out the door and through the hallways. Neo smiled. "I think... this'll be fun."

Kim nodded. "Should be."

Crona cocked her head. "Yes, it seems like it."

Neo stretched her arms. "I'm kinda hungry. Lunch is in like... twenty minutes. Wanna go eat somewhere that isn't here?"

Kim grinned at what she was suggesting. "Sure."

Crona replied meekly. "Yes."

Neo clapped her hands. "Great! Y'all know any where? Great. I sound like Lucas."

Crona giggled at this and Kim nodded. "Yeah! I know just the place but I'm not paying."

Neo smirked. "Didn't think you would. I'll do it. I don't mind."

They set off after Kim who led the way out of the building.

* * *

Neo, Crona and Kim found themselves in a diner about ten minutes away from the school. They sat in a booth waiting for their meals.

It was delightfully empty with only an elderly couple, a business man and a mother with her two-year-old were in there as well.

The witches had their drinks in front of them consisting of a Sprite for Neo, a Coke for Crona and a Dr. Pepper for Kim. Neo sipped hers delicately so she wouldn't run out before her food got there.

Kim smiled. "I wouldn't peg you the type to drink like that?"

Neo smirked. "I don't. Waiting for my food. I'll drink like a horse later."

Crona nodded. "That makes sense."

Neo looked around once then licked her lips. "So... how do you feel about the new circumstances?"

Crona pursed her lips while Kim shrugged. "I guess it just makes everything a little easier. I've been here for a couple of years and I had to hide. Makes me feel a little better not hiding from everyone including Lord Death."

Crona smiled weakly. "I learned something new today."

Neo sat up a little. "Wait, is Ragnarok hungry? I forgot about him."

Crona closed her eyes. "Let's see."

They stared at her. She opened her eyes. "He's starving. He wants a hamburger and a coke."

Neo nodded. "'Kay. We'll tell her when the waitress gets here."

Kim looked at Crona. "How do you put up with him?"

Crona cocked her head. "Opposites attract, I guess. I'm nothing like him. I never will be. He's not so bad once you get to know him."

Kim raised an eyebrow. "You have?"

Crona shrugged. "Well, when you've lived eight years with him inside you like I have, it's hard not to."

Neo made a motion that agreed. "That makes sense."

Kim licked her lips. "Uh, guys, can we like keep this a secret? The you-know-what? Except for our partners of course."

Neo grinned. "Lucas and Jonah have known since they met me. I think they know Crona is. I had a dream about you about a month before I even met you so no, I'm not a creeper. You'll be a surprise but it's nothing they can't handle."

Crona smiled. "Ragnarok knows and he won't tell."

Neo raised her eyebrows. "How?"

She bit her bottom lip. "He was listening. He didn't come out because he didn't need to."

Neo nodded slowly. "Like when you fake sleeping and you eavesdrop on your friends. You don't have to really guess who's talking or face them to hear them."

Crona smiled. "Exactly."

Kim sighed. "Well, I have to tell Jackie. It won't be a surprise to hear you're a witch Crona but Neo, you'll be a little more unexpected."

Neo faced Kim. "What do you mean?"

Crona smiled weakly. "I'll tell you some other time."

Neo winked. "I'll remember that... hopefully."

The two pinkettes giggled. The waitress returned with their food. Neo smiled and ordered for Ragnarok. "Can I also have a Hamburger with Fries and a Coke?"

The waitress looked around. "Are you expecting someone?"

Neo's smile stretched into a grin. "You could say that."

The waitress wrote it down and strut away. Neo smirked. "Ooh. She's a whore!"

Crona, who understood, flushed scarlet. "T-T-That's not nice."

Kim stared at her. "I thought you didn't know what it was."

Crona hid her face in her hands. "I didn't until a while ago."

Neo looked horrified. "They explained everything didn't they?"

Crona nodded while Kim held up her hands. "What are you talking about?"

Neo scratched the back of her neck. "Artemis and Ragnarok kind of told Crona where babies come from and probably all the situations it could happen in."

Kim's jaw dropped. "No. Way."

Neo put her arms on the table. "Yes way! They finished when I went to get Crona. She looked terrified."

An apologetic look crossed Kim's face. "That sucks."

They all began to eat their food.

Neo licked her lips. She would have to hide from Artemis and Matthew in a way that wasn't second nature. It'd be so hard. To hide from her new best friends. And from the others: Maka, Soul, Liz, Kid, Patty, Blackstar and Tsubaki. She didn't like to lie unless she had to. She did now but she didn't feel good about it.

Neo swallowed her food. "Let's make it official. Here."

She put her hand on the center of the table. Kim recognized it in seconds and placed hers next to Neo's. "This is a great idea!"

Crona shakily put her hand there. "W-What's this?"

Neo explained. "A Witch Promise. No magic that normal people can see involved. It's a more spiritual magic that bounds us with our promise together. Other than our partners, we are to tell no one of our natures."

A faint light radiated from each of their hands while the magic joined together to make a bright white. The feeling of a cuff attached to chains bound them for a while before disappearing.

Neo smiled. "It's complete."

They all shared a look before Neo smirked. "I guess we're good friends now, eh?"

Kim grinned. "Sure."

Crona nodded. "This wouldn't happen otherwise."

Neo cheered. "This is gonna be great! Now, let's resume eating. Wait, did I just say a big word like resume? Who says that anymore?"

Kim shrugged. "Teachers, adults with no lives, the British."

Crona cocked her head. "British?"

"From England?"

Crona furrowed her eyebrows. "From where?"

Neo sighed. "Yeah. Cupcake, let me explain. England is a country in Europe..."

* * *

**This was updated very quickly but it's because I literally had nothing else to do with my life this weekend. I may or may not update the next one this fast but I doubt it. Uh... waffles. The show on Friday was better than I hoped and I did everything good except for my headband malfunction which came off in the middle of Little Shop of Horrors (the song). **

**Meow. I don't have anything to say other than this is a lot shorter than usual and the middle sounds kind of awkward compared to my other writing. Whatever. **

**Shalom, people!**


	8. The Revelation

**The Revelation: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger**

* * *

Maka, Blackstar and Tsubaki were sitting on the couch in Neo, Lucas and Jonah's apartment. They had been invited over to study when they realized it was the day to go shopping for groceries.

Lucas waved as he pocketed the shopping list. "It's my turn to go to the supermarket! I'll be back later!"

Neo and Blackstar smirked at each other. "Can we come?" Neo asked.

Jonah's eyes widened. "NO!"

The two pouted. Tsubaki comforted Blackstar and Maka raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Neo grinned suddenly. "There is a reason for that. See, it all started on a Friday... I think. Not really sure. So anyway-"

* * *

_Smiles crossed the black-clad quartet's faces. They had a brilliant, ingenious plan that may or may not get them arrested. But for it, they'd take the risk. _

_It was the day to get the groceries and they would do so. In style. _

_They all had one thing in common-black jeans and shoes. _

_Lucas wore a pair of black sunglasses that he swiped from Jonah and a black t-shirt over a black white long-sleeved shirt that was pushed to his elbows. He wore his leather bracelet and necklace._

_Blackstar was dressed similarly in a black t-shirt with a black beanie and his regular weighted, finger less gloves._

_Artemis wore a black hoodie, a black t-shirt and black finger less gloves. Her hair was pulled into low a ponytail._

_Neo donned on her black sleeveless hoodie, a long-sleeved black shirt pushed up to her elbows, two rings and the turtle and swan necklaces._

_They were prepared to walk into a supermarket dressed as makeshift ninjas. Why? Because they could... and they needed to go shopping so they decided to make it fun. Blackstar proclaimed himself to be a ninja in the middle of watching random Nickelodeon movies. _

_About thirty minutes from getting lost due to Lucas' terrible directional skills and Artemis taking the lead, they made it to the supermarket. _

_Blackstar grinned and pressed play, filling the air with spy music. They all gave the signal then Lucas and Neo entered first. _

_Lucas did a back handspring while Neo did a no-hand cartwheel. She flipped over a several boxes of cereal and randomly clicked away. Lucas grabbed a cart and she placed the box inside. _

_Blackstar and Artemis came in after, Blackstar setting down the boom box to flip her. He grabbed it and they went in a different direction with a basket._  
_They needed things that they lacked at home: random assorted snacks, milk, eggs and Iced Tea mix. They also bought horchata mix which Neo was actually surprised they sold. They also got a pineapple, apples and bananas. _

_All while flipping around everywhere, spinning, keeping themselves flat against walls, balancing in ridiculous poses and walking as if they were trying to hide. _

_All of the other shoppers were staring like they'd lost it. To honest, they had a bit. I mean, to be completely normal and still do this of free will? That's absurd. _

_They had all stopped what they were doing when they heard a familiar voice. "What are you doing?"_

_Lucas was in a handstand position and now froze in place. Artemis was balancing on one leg in a ridiculous pose. Neo was in a crab-walk position. Blackstar was standing in a position where his hands were above his head and his legs were bent and spread apart. _

_Jonah had a raised eyebrow and they gave each other a look. They grabbed everything-including the cart, basket and the boom box-and dashed out of the place. When they were almost at the door, they realized they hadn't paid for their things. _

_Neo and Blackstar ran to the cashier they had before they ran. They paid and Blackstar pocketed the change. They ran out with Artemis being last. She stopped at the door, gave everyone the "I'm-watching-you" sign and fled with the others. _

* * *

Jonah sighed. "And that's why I don't let them go to the supermarket together."

Tsubaki and Maka could only stare at the three of the 'ninjas' with wide eyes. Lucas walked out the door nonchalantly while whistling. Neo and Blackstar looked extremely satisfied with themselves.

Jonah looked at the ceiling. "How do I even survive with you two?"

Neo shrugged. "That's your problem... I'll get out of your way so you guys can study. I don't ever so... later!"

Neo walked into her room and shuddered. Something was going to happen. What? She didn't know.

* * *

Neo was very unused to the stares while she walked to class. They were whispering but she had no idea why the were staring and pointing at her. Why was she relevant?

She had gotten very used to being invisible. Being forgotten in favor of other people. It hurt her but she was used to it and it wasn't weird to see her smile and wave it off when really, she was dying on the inside.

Even with her partners, people tending to drift toward the friendly, magnanimous Lucas or the serious, responsible Jonah. She might've been the most quirky and bold but she was very shy in front of strangers and naturally awkward. As a child, she was quiet and shy, no one ever really heard a word and she was like that often. That never changed. She was just a lot better around people now.

Maybe that's why she took up performing other than that she was good at it. To stand out since she had a natural tendency to blend into the background.

She shook her head. She had to get to class on time.

A voice made her turn around. "I didn't think you'd show up. With the rumors and all."

Neo turned and cocked her head. "What rumors?"

A girl with dirty blonde pigtails rolled her eyes. "You're a witch. What are you doing here?"

Neo's heart stopped. Holy. Shit. Who. Told? She feigned innocence. "What? Who told you that?"

She grinned. "I have my ways."

It'd only been a week since training started and they already found out. Who was the bastard who sold them out?

Lucas, who crept up behind her, smirked. "Honey. You ain't fooling anybody. You're hair is dyed."

The girl faltered. "I was born with dark roots."

Lucas snorted. "Yeah. Sure. And I like girls. Go away."

Neo joined in to get the girl to leave. She had to agree though. That hair looked very fake. "Baby doll, that hair is probably the fakest thing I've ever seen. No girl is born blond with dark brown roots. My hair is the same color your roots are."

The girl scoffed and walked away. Neo and Lucas looked at each other before doing a hand motion that was quickly putting up a finger in order from index to pinky and making a claw while making the "ts" noise and hissing right after.

They walked to the classroom and Neo stared at the ground. "That was the first time I've ever been bullied."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Neo shrugged. "Too invisible, remember?"

Lucas knew that for whatever reason, people forgot her. On purpose or not. It bothered him since she didn't say anything and pretended it didn't bother her. But he saw the hurt look in her eyes and knew that she felt like crying because it wasn't the first time and wouldn't be the last. So he made it his responsibility to always acknowledge what she did even if it got him in trouble. After years of not having that, she deserved a little recognition.

She applied chap stick onto her lips. "You hear the rumors?"

Lucas put an arm around her and nodded. "Yeah."

She placed it back in her hoodie's pocket. "You have any idea who started it?"

He sighed. "No. Jonah might have a lead but I don't."

They both looked up and Crona was shaking like a leaf while someone yelled at her. Neo ran forward quickly and Kim, who just noticed, went running to her defense as well. Neo smirked at the boy. "Oooh. You're not manly enough to bully a boy so instead, you do a girl. How pathetic."

Kim smiled. "Your soul is so weak that it makes me ill."

They both gasped, pretending to be characters they saw on a show once. The boy glared at both of them but their smiles didn't falter and neither did their gazes. He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Neo plopped into the seat next to Crona. "You okay?"

Crona nodded. "Someone found out." she whispered ever so slightly.

Neo rubbed her lips against each other. "Yeah. I noticed. Who?"

Kim and Crona shrugged. Neo smiled once more. "Who'd believe it anyway?"

Crona stared at the table. "For me. Everyone."

Neo cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

When Crona didn't say anything, she realized that it was probably private. Neo's smile was gentler. "You can tell me some other time."

Crona simply nodded meekly while Lucas who was accompanied by the newly arrived Jonah and Jackie sat near them. Jonah gave Crona a reassuring smile. "Crona, it's alright. We're here to protect you."

Just like he was of Levi, he was protective of Crona. She reminded him of the little sister he never had but would've wanted.

She grabbed his hand. "O-Okay."

Crona felt comfortable in his presence because a few days before he had defended her using the weirdest manner she'd ever seen other than Blackstar's or Patty's method: he acting like a Catholic priest.

When he explained, he said that though people didn't believe it, he did have a sense of humor. He hid it well and not many things were funny to him but it was there.

It was very... funny actually. It reminded her a lot of Justin the Death Scythe but it looked more extreme and ridiculous on Jonah because he wasn't wearing a priest's outfit and his accent was even thicker than usual.

Neo cocked her head. "Where's Ragnarok?"

Crona looked at the table. "He's sleeping because he couldn't go to sleep last night. The only reason he woke up this morning was because he needed to eat."

Neo nodded in understanding. "He's an early riser, I see."

Kim, Jackie and Lucas snickered at her sarcasm. Crona cracked a smile which made Neo's grow. "That pretty face. Still hiding?"

Crona giggled and knew what she was referring to. Class started and they all sat in their seats, paying attention to the teacher.

* * *

For the rest of the day, they stuck to each other like salt. They went everywhere in groups of pure fear that someone would either bully them or actually have proof that they were witches. Fear brought them together but they didn't care.

They had different ways of handling it.

Neo smiled and lied shamelessly though on the inside she panicked.

Kim acted like it didn't bother her and that everyone was lower than her.

Crona tried not to look at anyone period and pretend that no one was talking about her.

They worked mostly but it wasn't a good way to deal with any of it.

Crona was walking only with Neo because the others wanted to go to lunch right away. Crona wanted to take the long way and Neo offered to go with her. The same blonde haired girl with dark roots pushed Crona into a group of lockers. She snarled. "Get out of my way, you bitch."

Neo's eyes widened. "You..."

The blonde turned to her and rolled her eyes. "Look. The other witch. Great."

Neo pulled Crona behind her. This made the blonde grin mockingly. "Need a midget to protect you? How cute. Can't defend yourself?"

This made Crona narrow her eyes and stare at her. Neo pushed Crona next to her. Crona sucked in a shaky breath. "I can. But what do I need to defend myself from?"

Neo grinned at her response and the blonde snorted. "I don't know. Everything. The girlfriend you'll never have."

Crona's eyes grew wide. "I'm a girl."

The blonde gasped in fake surprise. "Really? I couldn't tell. You look so... male. I didn't know. Your flatter than a board and no one likes you. Leave."

Crona felt a familiar slight pain in her back and bit her lip. Ragnarok popped out of Crona's back and growled. "Hey! No one can bully Crona but me! You woke me up, you skinny little bitch!"

The girl looked at Crona. "You freak!"

Ragnarok glared. "Are you deaf? Only I can bully Crona. Do you want me to hurt you?"

She snorted. "You wouldn't dare."

Ragnarok smirked. "Really? You wanna find out."

He leaned close to her and she realized that he was completely serious. She scoffed. "Whatever. Like I need to waste my time on you."

Ragnarok snickered. "You're scared! It's hilarious."

The girl opened her mouth to say something but turned and stomped away. Neo cocked her head at Ragnarok, leading them to the cafeteria. "I didn't know you cared."

Ragnarok scoffed. "I don't. It's annoying. She's my victim."

Crona didn't respond which made Neo lick her lips. "Come over to my place later. I'll make you dinner and we can do homework."

Crona, who didn't want to make her sad, nodded meekly. "S-Sure."

* * *

Neo rushed around to make sure that the place was clean for Crona. It was the first time she'd be visiting her apartment. Whether people knew it or not, she liked to keep her apartment in a way that was comfortable. The home was important to her. It was her ancestry that was to blame for it.

Neo wasn't wearing her regular clothes, having changed into something more comfortable. She wore a big, green t-shirt with sharpie words in different colors all over it, on the back 107 written in big, blocked letters, jeans and no shoes.

She was humming a Hawaiian song under her breath. She flitted around the living room. Lucas was in his room working on a dress that he claimed was the best thing he'd thought of. He started about a week ago. Jonah was sculpting the pumpkin carriage to give to Blair who they'd met. In exchange for her not doing anything to him, he'd make the carriage. Levi was watching the Lion King, Esme in her arms.

A knock made her smile. She's here.

Neo walked over to the door (almost tripping on the coffee table) and opened it.

There was Crona, Ragnarok resting on her head, books clutched to her chest. Neo smiled. "Hi! Come in!"

Crona smiled weakly and nodded. She stepped inside and observed the apartment.

It was big with pale green walls and wooden floors with rugs in many places. From the light on the ceiling, different veils went to the edge of the ceiling. There were pictures on the walls, a bookcase in one corner, an armchair, a love seat and a couch around a coffee table. There were little trinkets everywhere: from a genuine shillelagh to a small wooden totem carving. It felt very homey with the blankets over the various seats and pillows on each of them.

Crona took a seat on the couch opposite the TV on a small table. Neo sat next to her. "So, we have that essay due next week that I will procrastinate on-"

Crona looked at her. "Procrastinate? Why?"

Neo shrugged. "Eh. Habit. Old habits die hard, ya know? Okay. We have the worksheets for C.A.F. and Phasmology."

Crona nodded again. "Yeah. Let's start on C.A.F."

The two witches pulled the worksheets out and Ragnarok went back into her body out of boredom. C.A.S. (Combat and Strategy) was a relatively easy class. It was more physical than it was writing so there wasn't much to write. They were taught fighting skills and strategy.

It wasn't all that hard to pass and especially for Neo. Fighting was easy. Strategy was harder but not by much. Making them herself was hard but learning about them was a piece of cake. Crona fared better in strategy.

Neo answered questions easily and Crona was only a little slower. Neo was efficient in answering questions. She began to randomly sing a song.

"_**You know the bed feels warmer**_  
_**Sleeping here alone**_  
_**You know I dream in color**_  
_**And do the things I want**_

_**You think you got the best of me**_  
_**Think you've had the last laugh**_  
_**Bet you think that everything good is gone**_  
_**Think you left me broken down**_  
_**Think that I'd come running back**_  
_**Baby you don't know me, cause you're dead wrong**_."

Neo stood up and started to dance in a way that seemed like she couldn't or didn't try very hard. She pulled Crona to her feet, making her dance with her.

"_**What doesn't kill you makes you stronger**_  
_**Stand a little taller**_  
_**Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone**_

_**What doesn't kill you makes a fighter**_  
_**Footsteps even lighter**_  
_**Doesn't mean I'm over 'cause you're gone**_

_**What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger**_  
_**Just me, myself and I**_

_**What doesn't kill you makes you stronger**_  
_**Stand a little taller**_  
_**Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone**_."

Crona smiled and sat back down. The song was true. Ragnarok stated this.

Neo shrugged with a nod. "Yeah. Crona, babycakes, why'd you say that everyone would believe you being a witch?"

Crona froze in place and bit her lip in hesitation. She shouldn't tell... but Neo wouldn't tell. She wouldn't push her away. She let out a breath. "Have you ever heard of the Black Blood?"

Neo scrunched her nose in concentration. "Someone mentioned it but I don't know what it is per se. Why?"

Ragnarok popped back up to answer. "It's a substance that's black as a substitute for regular blood but it isn't regular at all. It can be manipulated as a weapon and it's known for driving the possessor to madness."

Neo cocked her head. "What does that have to... holy shit. It's in you, isn't it?"

Crona nodded. "Yeah."

Neo's curiosity bubbled. "Who put it there?"

Crona looked close to tears. "M-M-My... mother, Medusa. She was a witch too."

Neo gasped in shock, covering her mouth with her hands. "Crona..."

The lavender-haired girl waved her hand through the air. "Ragnarok was melted down and injected into me. He was put in when I was... five. He was seven. He was human once."

Neo stared at the coffee table. "Oh my god. Ragnarok, that'd make you sixteen."

Ragnarok shrugged. "Almost seventeen."

Her eyes widened in shock. "I... Ragnarok... Wait, love, why are you so mean to Crona then?"

He was hesitant in his answer. "Why do you care?"

Neo cleared her throat. "'Cause I do."

Ragnarok scoffed. "Sure you do."

Neo growled. "Stop it, will you?! You don't have anything to hide from me! Please... I won't tell a soul. Not even my partners. Not even my little girl. I promise."

He knew how much promises meant to this odd girl. A sign that she trusted you was if she made a promise with you. Ragnarok sucked in a shaky breath. "It's... not on purpose. That's all I'm saying! Besides, I need somewhere to vent out my anger. I mean, seriously. I'm a dude in a girl's body."

She licked her bottom lip. That gave him every right in her eyes. To be mean. Overly cruel was something else but a little teasing wasn't bad in her eyes. As long as it wasn't malicious.

She realized something. Ragnarok used to be human. He used to have a body, hopes, dreams. He used to be able to take care of himself. He used to be able to dance and speak and flip off people.

Neo got a plan that was pure and utter insanity but for Ragnarok, who had suffered so much from what she heard, she'd try.

She'd need Stein and Eibon for assistance but other than that, she'd be fine.

The phone rang loudly which made Neo jump a foot in the air and fall backwards. She laughed with Crona and Ragnarok at herself. She got up and grabbed the phone.

A voice said, "Hello?"

It was Maka. Neo put the phone on speaker. "Hello. My life sucks. Can I help you?"

Maka sighed audibly. "Yeah. Are the rumors true?"

Crona and Neo shared a look before Crona smiled weakly. Neo licked her lips and yelled for Lucas who came out of his room, hair a mess wearing a flashy shirt.

Neo smirked. "I will not ask. Tell her" she gestured to the phone, "that we and Crona are... you know."

Lucas grabbed the phone. "The girls are witches. Who is this?"

Maka let out a breath. "Maka. Good to know."

Lucas grinned. "Hey! Maka, it's been like a few hours since we talked. How you doin'?"

Maka chuckled. "Good. Can you pass me back to Neo and Crona? Wait, why couldn't they tell me themselves?"

Lucas shrugged. "Pact. Witches form bonds to make alliances or in this case, to keep secrets. They'll break it with magic sooner or later but their stuck with it for now."

"I see."

He passed the phone to the girls and disappeared. Neo shook her head. "I have nothing to say to him. He's wearing a flashy shirt that may or may not make him more 'fabulous' than normal."

Crona giggled. Maka spoke. "Send me a picture."

Neo nodded. "Later. We have homework to finish so... bye, hun!"

Maka and Crona said their goodbyes before Neo hung up.

* * *

Neo ran towards her classroom as quickly as she could before class started. She would talk to Stein even if it killed her.

She burst into the room and rushed to the silver-haired man. She smiled at him. "Stein. I have a favor to ask of you."

He stared at her. "I'm listening."

Her smile grew into a grin. "Well... sir, what do you know about-"

She filled him in on her plan. He smiled when she finished. "You've got guts coming to tell me this. Sure, I'll help."

Her idea was crazy and risky but it was mostly beneficial to all parties involved. He hadn't heard a more insane but... helpful idea in a long time.

Neo clasped her hands together. "Thank you! I need to talk to Eibon to teach me a spell to get my part done. When do you think you can have 'it'?"

He stared at her. "About a week. Maybe two. I'll tell you when it's done."

She nodded. "'Kay! I'll go! See you in a bit!"

She waved hastily before dashing out of the room, tripping on the threshold of the room but waving it off to run.

He shook his head.

She had spirit and creative ideas. This should be interesting. Eibon's niece indeed.

* * *

Maka's POV

She was in first period when she first heard the rumors. "Hey. Did you hear that Kim girl, Crona and the new girl are witches?"

Soul was right next to her and she knew he'd heard to. They gave each other a look of disbelief. Crona they could believe but Kim? That seemed a little impossible. Neo? Well, Neo would make sense. They didn't know all of her abilities.

Why hadn't they said anything? Who started this?

Maka thought about it all day and on her way to Lunch, she say Crona being bullied, Neo being ignored and Ragnarok standing up for his meister.

What was happening?

The three girls seemed to be taking it in stride. Crona a lot more hesitant but she didn't break down. They stuck together like salt and held their heads high. Somehow, Maka could tell that they were trying not to say anything in fear of saying something wrong.

It wasn't until she called a few hours later that it hit her.

Crona was a witch and so were Neo and Kim.

Kim. Who'd she'd known for years. Who'd been a great friend for a long time. One of her first friends at the academy. This girl was a witch?

Neo. Who she just met. Who was new to the school and in everyone's lives. Neo was open and honest about everything. There was rarely a thing she seemed to hide. She hid that she was a witch?

She could understand why they didn't say anything. Bullying, isolation, discrimination. Witch meisters? Unheard of. Who would do such a thing?

They did. Three girls brave enough to do it anyway. That was incredible. Maka would have to ask them on when they knew and how they did it.

A witch being a meister? Cool and almost impossible to dream of.

How did they do it?

* * *

**My first time doing it in Maka's point of view. May or may not be terrible. God. I think that this chapter is rushed but I can't really fix it since I don't know how. Oh well.**

**Ragnarok is a softie sometimes! Jeez. I think he's the most OOC character out of all of them. I do have a reason for it that makes me feel a little guilty.**

**Proofread on this is so weird. I spelt ponytail and it asked if I wanted portal instead. Why would I want to spell pancakes over babycakes? Who calls someone pancakes... other than my cousin that one time. I have nothing to say. Nothing at all. **

**What's the plan? It's kind of awesome if I do admit it myself. I'll reveal it next time. **

**See ya next time!**


	9. The Resonance Link

**The Resonance Link: Card Games, Candy and Awakenings**

* * *

Nothing said that you didn't have nothing else to do than sitting in a deformed circle in a classroom on a Friday playing cards with a bunch of other people who also had nothing to do. So, let's begin on who the players are, shall we?

Neo. Her poker face involved an almost blank look. Almost meaning the slight curiosity of what the other's cards were.

Jonah with a poker face that consisted of his usual, placid expression. His face literally revealed nothing about what his cards were.

Lucas. He pursed his lips ridiculously and looked like he was trying to do an impression of Levi who did that rather often. He looked like an idiot.

Artemis who was smirking knowingly, like she knew all the cards even though she didn't at all.

Crona. She looked completely confused and a little anxious since this was the first time she was playing this game.

They really couldn't see the look Ragnarok's face considering the look on his face so they knew they'd have no idea of telling if he was bluffing or not.

Matthew was currently the dealer for the sole fact that he wasn't very good at this game. Any card game really.

They were playing BS. Why you may ask?

Because they had nothing to bet with for poker and Crona didn't know how to play, Lucas and Jonah refused to play Spit with Neo, Neo forgot how to play Crazy Eights and no one felt in the mood to play Goldfish. So they decided to test their skills in lying and were now playing in Stein's room.

They would've played in Mifune's classroom but he was currently trying to whip Hiro into shape. They were taking bets to see how long he'd last and if he'd make it.

Jonah went first. "Ace."

Lucas was next. "Two."

Crona hesitantly put down hers. "T-Three."

If they hadn't known her to be Crona, they would've called her out. There was also the chance that she wasn't lying and was just nervous.

Ragnarok reached over awkwardly to put his down. "Four."

Artemis went fifth. "Five."

Neo was last to place hers. "Six."

After about two more rounds, surprisingly, Lucas was the first to get all the cards. Stein, who was also in the room to grade papers, watched with an amused expression.

Of all the things a group of teenagers could do on a Friday, they decided to stay inside school to play BS.

The game went by quicker than they imagined... especially since Neo thought it was a good idea to start talking about random things. She closed her eyes. "Meow." she whispered.

They all stared at her in disbelief. She smiled contentedly while Lucas shook his head. "Meow."

Neo sniffed. "I'm a cat/dog person. I honestly have no idea which I like better. You guys?"

Artemis didn't hesitate in her answer. "Cat."

Matthew shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

Crona pursed her lips. "Cat, I guess. But I wouldn't mind a dog."

Ragnarok shrugged. "Dog."

Jonah stared at his cards. "Dog," he answered absently.

Lucas smirked. "I don't know 'bout y'all but I'm a horse person."

Neo grinned. "You stupid cowboy."

He held up his hands in defense, a stupid grin on his face. Matthew stared at him. "You're a cowboy?"

Lucas nodded. "Proud. I'm from Kansas, baby! Proof is of my driver's licence."

Artemis snorted, putting down another card. "Seven. Who's stupid enough to give you a licence?"

Neo rushed to his defense. "Well, he worked on a ranch. You didn't honestly think he carried all those cows to places."

Lucas pursed his lips and broke into another grin. "I like rodeo. It's fun. Mechanical bulls make me sad though. They can never really replicate the real thing."

Neo glared. "Jackass. Stop rubbing the fact that you are so much better at it than me in my face!"

He chuckled to himself. Back in New York, there was a restaurant they stumbled across that had a mechanical bull. Lucas being Lucas wanted to see if felt at all like a real bull. He said it was pretty close, breaking the record of the longest ride in that restaurant. Jonah was next and lost to his younger brother by about forty seconds to a whole minute. Neo didn't even last a full minute. She was stubborn and did her best to stay on it but would always fail.

She hated mechanical bulls ever since.

Neo flipped him off with a glare. Ragnarok grinned. "I'm gonna guess it was really bad."

Jonah smirked. "She barely lasted twenty seconds the first time she went on."

Ragnarok barked with laughter. "That's really bad."

Crona scrunched her nose. "What's a mechanical bull?"

Matthew smiled at her. "It's a machine in the shape of a bull that acts like one trying to push you off."

Crona nodded in understanding. "Okay."

Artemis smirked. "I'll probably last longer than Jonah if I tried."

Neo bit her lip. "It's hard to stay on that thing but you're stronger than me so yeah, you'll probably last longer than me." she grinned. "Because unlike you guys, I have the most impressive upper body strength in this room," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she did a ridiculous muscle pose.

They laughed at her. Neo put down her arms. "Wow, I wonder how Herman's doing."

Jonah put down a card. "He's fine. It's not like Levi's a handful."

His eyes widened. "Let's pray she doesn't do anything."

Neo looked at him. "She'll be fine. This is Levi we're talking about."

He didn't look convinced but didn't argue.

Neo froze in place. Her child senses were tingling. "I feel a disturbance in the force."

Her child senses was similar to how a mother knows her child is sick or upset or misbehaving or something like that. Levi, by the feelings, was probably hungry.

Jonah stared at her. "And what do you mean by that?"

They stopped and Neo let out a relived sigh. "Nothing. It's nothing."

The redhead rolled his hazel-cream eyes. "I give up."

Crona looked at his eyes. "Do your eyes change color?"

Jonah nodded. "With whatever color the room is. That's why Lucas won't use a mirror in strange places. He has no idea what is eye color might be. I noticed that yours do but their usually just some sort of blue color."

Crona smiled meekly. "Yes. Lighting."

Jonah's smile grew. "That explains it."

Neo snorted at something Ragnarok said. "Please. I'm way better than a pickle."

They all stared at the two. Artemis pursed her lips. "When you die, can I dissect your brain?" Stein smirked at this. "You know, to see all the fuckery that's contained there?"

Neo shrugged. "Knock ya'self out, dollface."

Artemis had issues with Neo calling her a pet name so Neo usually called her Arty. One of the only three people who did so. Lucas and Ragnarok were the only others.

Neo stared at her cards before her face lit up and she stuck out her tongue, trying to touch the tip of her nose with it. Jonah shook his head, a small concern building. She fell out of a chair as banged her head against a headboard the last time she did it. It bled a little and had a very dark bruise for the next few days.

With hair like hers, it was almost impossible to wash her hair. Lucas had to help her so she didn't hurt herself more.

Jonah looked at her, cleverly hiding his concern. "Neo, your tongue isn't long enough to do that."

She glared at him. "If you can do it so can I."

It was moments like these when he wished, prayed even, that she wasn't so stubborn.

She grinned. "Anything you can do I can do better!"

Jonah rolled his eyes and to get her to stop as she broke out singing, he touched his nose with his tongue with literally no effort. She stopped to stare at him incredulously. They all did.

Even Artemis stopped to stare.

Lucas smiled proudly. "No matter how many times I do it, you manage to look more awesome.

Jonah shrugged, his expression and attitude nonchalant as he placed down another card. "Jack."

Ragnarok smirked. "Didn't see that coming."

Jonah looked bored. "When you've lived on an Irish farm in the middle of nowhere your whole life, you'll do anything to entertain yourself. I can say the Gaelic alphabet backwards, singing and saying it though I'm probably tone-deaf."

Neo shrugged. "You're singing voice isn't awful. It sounds okay."

Jonah snorted. "I'm sorry we can't all sound like saints."

Neo rolled her eyes. "Decent. Never a saint."

Jonah didn't say anything else, ignoring the subject to talk to Ragnarok. "That and I can do nothing but stare at things for hours upside down."

Neo suddenly understood why his paintings were so good and why when he tried to remember, he did them upside down. To try to remember staring at the landscape for hours on end.

Neo pursed her lips and clapped her hands together. "Let's play!"

In the end, only Artemis and Ragnarok were left.

Neo got bored and made her lie obvious. Lucas and Crona weren't good at lying. Jonah dropped his cards and still lied, not really caring if he won or lost.  
They were extremely competitive, spit firing words faster than any of them thought they could. Ninja speed as Neo called it. With only a few seconds to respond to each other.

"Seven." "Eight." "Nine." "Jack." "Queen." "King." "Ace." "Two."

Ragnarok stumbled on his words and Artemis won. Neo clapped then grinned. "It's over! Cool! I'm hungry for once. Hand over the cards."

The cards were part of the two sets she owned. These normal ones and a limited edition set of pink ones. They were her pride and glory. Other than Lucas, Jonah and Levi.

She stuffed the cards into the box and then placed them in her bag. They all got their things and filed out. They said goodbye to Stein. "Later!" "See you Monday." "Thanks for letting us use the classroom."

He waved as they walked out. The second the door closed and the last student was out, Lord Death called Stein over the PA.

Stein nodded. "Coming," he answered in monotone.

* * *

The silver-haired scientist stood in front of Lord Death with his hands stuck in his lab coat's pockets. "May I help you?"

Lord Death nodded. "Stein, are they ready to begin?"

Stein knew exactly what he meant.

Were Neo, Lucas, Jonah, Artemis, Matthew, Crona and Ragnarok ready to become the DWMA's new team? Stein nodded in affirmation. "They should be."  
Lord Death clapped his hands together. "Then let them start Duel Arts tomorrow! The DWMA has a new team!"

Stein grinned. "I have a feeling they'll pick it up quicker than the other teams."

Lord Death would've grinned back if he could. "That they should."

* * *

Artemis, Crona and Neo shared grins (well, smile in Crona's case) when they heard their new placement.

Neo and Lucas took the Duel Arts information in stride, Lucas only trying to absorb the introduction as fast as he could so he didn't seem stupid. Jonah, on the other hand, was a little apprehensive and after a demonstration did believe it could work.

Neo was actually very excited. She honestly had no idea how her new teammates wavelengths would feel. Sure, she hung around them often but like with appearances, she didn't pay attention much.

When she heard about Resonance Link, she was so happy, she clamped down her mouth so she wouldn't cheer.

Lucas looked at Stein. "So we start tomorrow?"

Stein nodded. "Yes. Don't worry, everyone here took the class but the three of you. It'll be easy."

Jonah let out a relieved sigh. "Are you sure?"

Stein smiled. "With how you three pick up things, it should be about a week before you actually try and we'll prepare you for it. So, are you up the challenge?"

Artemis snorted. "Me and Matthew are in."

Stein turned his eyes to Matthew who nodded in response. Ragnarok shrugged. "What the hell. We'll do it."

Crona smiled. "Yeah, we will."

Neo grinned. "But of course. Why not, right?"

Lucas clapped his hands together excitedly. "Let's do it!"

They all looked at Jonah who sighed, looking up and saying a quick prayer. "I'll give it a shot."

Stein clapped his hands together. "Yes, we'll start tomorrow in theory."

* * *

The week of learning it in theory went by quickly and it was easier than they expected. Because they needed more of the gist than an in-depth explanation, they got the easy version which gave them no problems to get.

Jonah asked questions for his partners which made Stein wonder how close they actually were for him to guess easily. But he answered his own question when he saw Jonah's eyes read them, assess for a few seconds then ask a question. He didn't have a single hesitation that he was wrong and he let himself smile when they thanked him silently.

They were now trying to conduct the link in reality and it was not going well. In fact, this was their second day of trying.

Stein sighed as they failed once more and Mifune looked at the scientist. "Does this happen often?"

Mifune had never seen Resonance Link and had never had the privilege of seeing a team try to make one. So this group was a perfect fit.

Stein pushed his glasses up further. "It shouldn't. I don't know what the problem is concretely. I have theory but I'm not sure if it's what it is."

Neo heard this and let out a depressed breath. She had no idea what the problem was either. It always seemed to work out when she resonated with Crona and the same for Artemis but when they touched Artemis or herself, it exploded in their faces. Quite literally.

Jonah sighed. "Let's take a break. We'll try again later."

Lucas pursed his lips, transforming the same time his brother did. "I feel like there's something we around paying attention to. Like there's something we're supposed to know but don't right now." He smiled then. "We'll find out later."

Jonah closed his eyes. "Alright. So Lucas, Neo and I haven't been able to resonate with Artemis. Lucas and I resonate with them at the same time but Neo doesn't have enough time so it's either me or Lucas."

Matthew nodded. "And I resonate with both of you but Artemis goes in before Neo then it breaks down."

Artemis clapped her hands together. "So, it's Jonah's fault! Problem solved."

Stein tensed. "Now my theory is proven correct."

Mifune didn't react while Jonah went on the defensive almost immediately. "What have I done?"

She stared at him calmly. "Made us fail in doing this."

Jonah held her gaze. "And how is it my fault? how do you know it isn't yours?"

She glared. "How is it my fault? I didn't do anything!"

Jonah rolled his eyes. "Sure, you didn't."

She yelled at him. "This is all your fault! You're too stupid to do this!"

Neo and Lucas froze when something happened they didn't expect, Jonah yelled right back. "How did I do anything? We were fine until we tried to include you!"

Artemis snorted. "It's 'cause once my smartness connected with your stupidity, it made me lose concentration, you imbecile!"

Jonah was furious. "My stupidity? I'm stupid? You're the one who spouts the most stupid nonsense I've ever heard in my life!"

Mifune hummed. "I see what your theory entitles."

This was only heard by Stein. Neo began internally to panic. She wanted to stop them but fear gripped her body the second Jonah made the decision to continue the argument. That wasn't like him at all. Why did he...? She stiffened. How long had he been holding that in?

Lucas seemed to have the same thoughts because he whimpered silently. Artemis put her arms across her chest. "I can't waste perfectly good wisdom on morons! It's like giving food to fat, lazy people like you!"

Jonah raised his eyebrows, looking at her with artificial surprise. "Wisdom? Oh God have mercy on the disgrace of a soul you happen to possess. Whatever wisdom you have to offer, I'd gladly pass because I'm afraid I'd waste my life by listening to it."

Tears filled Lucas's vision as he clasped his hands around his mouth. Neo felt and looked more helpless than ever. Crona covered her eyes and Ragnarok stayed silent. Matthew, Stein and Mifune could only stare at the redheaded weapon.

Artemis didn't look the least bit fazed. "What life?"

Neo clutched Lucas's arm. "How can she?"

The boy shrugged. Jonah snorted. "You know the life people like you don't have."

Artemis put her hands on her hips. "And what does this so-called life of yours have? Neo and Lucas as your only friends and going to fucking church on Sunday? I'll pass."

Jonah was barely affected and had the compulsive need to defend the church. "Probably because you could never comprehend something of that magnitude. And having them as my only friends means I don't have to be friends with you." Jonah smiled mockingly at her. "Believe me, that I'd take any day."

Mifune looked at Stein. "Should we stop them?"

Stein shook his head. "No. I will explain my reason for doing this later."

Artemis made hand motions with her left hand. "Who ever said I wanted to be friends with you? I'd rather be friends with every motherfucker I see."

Jonah put his arms across his chest. "Good. They're probably the only friends you have."

Artemis rolled her emerald eyes. "Oh yeah 'cause you have bitches coming to and fro to your house."

Ragnarok smirked. "BURN!"

Artemis high fived him. Jonah sighed. "My point exactly. No offense, Ragnarok."

Ragnarok managed to keep his temper in check since Jonah wasn't all bad in his opinion. "None taken," he gritted out better than he imagined. "I will kick your ass if you say it again though."

Artemis, who shared a definite friendship with the demon sword, went to his defense. "Who the fuck do you think you are that you can disrespect those that can beat your ass? The fucking Queen of England? You look like her anyways."

Jonah raised an eyebrow, snorting softly. "And you'd know what she looks like. You're indirectly insulting Lucas and to be completely honest, you look worse."

Lucas took offense to that and put his arms around Neo to hide his tears in his neck. Neo was getting seriously fed up with their fighting but she wanted to let Jonah to let out all of his anger before she said anything. Matthew, who also wanted the same, didn't interfere but was very prepared to intervene if he had to.

Artemis's anger came back full force as he twisted her words. She'd never say that to Lucas. And if she did, not in a way that was that cruel. "Motherfucker, who are you to talk? You're no Benedict Cumberbatch."

Jonah's stare was not disturbed nor offended. "I never said I was." He then cocked his head slightly. "Isn't he that guy in that Sherlock show that Neo's so fond of?"

Neo couldn't control her fangirl instincts. She threw one arm in the air, the other holding Lucas's wrist. "TEAM SHERLOCK, BITCHES!"

Artemis turned to Neo with a smile. "This is why you're my best friend." She turned back to Jonah. "Well, then shut the fuck up. You lower the IQ of the entire school when you speak."

Jonah was still unfazed. "And that would include yourself."

Artemis clenched her fists. "Why do you think the link failed? 'Cause you made me stupid!"

Jonah put his arms up in defense. "Oh, I'm sorry to let the stupidity I don't posses bring you down. Have you ever considered it might be you?"

Crona bit her lip and Ragnarok rested his head on his arms on hers. She didn't like this one bit but was afraid to lose their friendships if she did anything and if she got hurt by some weird accident, Ragnarok would be hurt as well and she'd rather not have the life inside her be hurt. She took a quick glance at him then back at the two.

She hoped that they would end this soon.

Artemis looked very annoyed. "Jeez, you think you're so smart! You fucker, you're so stupid I'm wasting my time arguing with you!"

Jonah stared at her, mentally scolding her language. Neo was at least a little more creative with her terrible language. "Then why did you start it in the first place?"

Artemis glared and stomped over to him. "You're the one," she stretched on her toes and punched his eye, "that started it!"

Jonah stumbled back and clutched his eye in pain. Crona stood up and Neo grabbed Lucas from interfering. "Let them finish. He needs to finish this."

Lucas hid his face once more, wrapping his arms around his waist. "I can't watch. Tell me when it's over."

Neo nodded once, her eyes hard. Jonah went stiff from shock and even Ragnarok was surprised from the turn of events. Artemis took this time to walk behind him. Matthew looked at her. "Guys, um, maybe you should calm down."

Artemis shot him a glare. "Fuck off, Matthew! Can't you see I'm busy?"

Matthew opened his mouth to protest but stopped when Artemis tackled Jonah from behind, pushing him into the ground. Mifune moved to stop this but Stein didn't let him. "Listen to Neo. They need to vent out their problems."

She lifted her fist to hit him more but Lucas and Matthew darted forward to stop her. Lucas got punched square in the nose and Matthew got backhand slapped before they could pull her off.

She struggled against them, throwing punches and growling. "FUCKERS OFF! LEMME AT HIM!"

Jonah stood up, his posture perfect and expression blank. He nodded at the two boys. "Thank you for that. Now if you'll excuse me."

He walked away and Mifune looked at Stein. "What was the meaning of that?"

Stein looked at his fellow teacher. "It's been obvious to me from his wavelength that he's been building some sort of anger throughout this course and I wanted to see how long it would take him to explode. Somehow, I get the feeling this isn't all the anger he has. That is one of the benefits of this.

It exposes feelings no one notices and especially for Jonah because people like him suppress their emotions in fear and for others."

Mifune then hmmed. "I know the feeling."

* * *

Jonah's gaze was trained on the sky. He honestly couldn't believe himself. He didn't honestly expect to let out all his anger on her. He sighed. "It's weakening. It only lasted a month this time."

Jonah had a perfectly crafted shield that protected him from being emotionally hurt. He'd had it for years beginning at age six of his own choice. Why?

Because he didn't want to end up like his parents, oceans and countries apart while keeping two brothers who'd hardly been with each other apart as well.

If it meant he'd forever be by himself then so be it.

Mifune sat next to him. "Your defense?"

Jonah laughed humorlessly. "Yes, I'm afraid its breaking."

Mifune shook his head. "It never will. Trust me. I still have mine and I don't need it."

Jonah licked his lips. "What's it like? Having it for so long?"

The samurai sighed. "Lonely."

Jonah shrugged. "That's alright. I have been for most of my life."

Mifune hummed, his memories flooding back to him. He closed his eyes. "Kid, don't turn out like me."

Jonah cocked his head. "Meaning?"

Mifune explained. "A guy who ended up being a bodyguard, hired by gangsters and other unsavory people. They gave me the name 'Sword God' and I never disobeyed an order, killing whoever they wanted me to."

Jonah had heard about that but he didn't believe it to be true. He let Mifune tell him his story. "Why? What drove you to it?"

"It wasn't a way to live when I think of it. I was just trying to make money and I really think I could've done something better but at the time, I didn't think of it.

This was how I met the witch Angela.

My employer at the time was the Godfather of the mafia and he told me he managed to track down a witch in the possession of a rival family. My assignment was to capture her. I was to kill her then deliver her Soul back to him.

I killed all the rival family's forces and there was a small voice, asking me if I had come to kill them. And there she was, she told me what had happened to her and then I realized something: this was the Witch I had to kill.

For once, I disobeyed orders and fled with her. We hid from my employer's men and we escaped. I gave her a candy and we've been together ever since. I protected her from all the forces that tried to harm her. She's the reason I live now other than teaching.

Don't end up like me, killing to survive. Sure, I'm teaching here now but a long time ago I didn't. I did this because I lost someone I loved and I created a shield for myself. I wanted to avenge them and I did but I only got myself in more trouble."

Jonah let out a breath. "But then again, I'm not you, Mifune."

Mifune stared at Jonah in shock. Jonah smiled at this. "I might not even have to deal with this but I will learn from your mistakes. I won't ever let this happen again if I have a say in it. I will be the person you never had a chance to be... but on one condition," he met Mifune's eyes, "help me.

See, if it were anyone else, I'd request to handle this on my own but you know first hand what it's like. I'd be honored if you'd help me."

Mifune finally shot the boy a smile. "Deal. Here," he said, tossing Jonah something.

The weapon caught it and observed it. "Candy?"

Mifune nodded. Jonah shrugged, unwrapped it then popped it in his mouth. He moved it around with his tongue before raising an eyebrow. "Is this seaweed flavor?"

Mifune grinned. "Yep."

Jonah shook his head slightly. "It tastes weird but in a good way."

Mifune clapped Jonah on the back. "That's the spirit. Now, let's go. I want to see the Resonance Link since I never have before."

Jonah looked determined. "Alright. Then, I'll be happy to make that happen."

* * *

Jonah and Mifune made their way back to the clearing where they were training. Neo, Lucas and Crona looked relieved. He stopped before looking at them. "I'm sorry I've been a terrible sport and Artemis, I'm sorry I said all of those mean things to you. I didn't mean it."

Artemis snorted. "I'm not weak. I can take that."

Jonah smiled at this. "I'm sure you can."

He sobered up a little. "Anyway, I've been the reason we haven't made it. I cracked all of our chances and no, Ragnarok," he said, looking at him, "this does not mean I am on crack."

Ragnarok grinned. "You read my mind."

Jonah rolled his eyes but bowed slightly. "Thank you. Well, if you don't mind but I think we have some work to do."

Neo smirked. "But of course! I'm not ready to give up just yet!"

Matthew smiled. "We're ready."

Jonah nodded. "Good. Artemis?"

She shrugged and smirked. "Let's get this over with so I don't have to see your ugly face for much longer."

Jonah shrugged it off. "Fair enough." He remembered a thought and tossed Artemis something. "Here."

She raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

She looked down at the small object and growled when she couldn't read it. She gave it to Neo who read it. "It's candy."

Artemis stared at her. "What kind?"

Neo shrugged. "Well, I don't know if you like it or not but it's okay."

She gave it back to Artemis and Jonah smirked to himself. Neo knew what kind it was but she didn't say anything. Artemis popped it into her mouth, licked it then spit it back out. "What the hell was that?!"

Neo and Jonah laughed. Neo grinned. "Seaweed candy!"

Artemis glowered at them. "What the heck!"

Neo's grin turned incredibly cheeky. "Be a man and get over it. We should begin."

Artemis hmphed. Mifune rejoined Stein's side where the professor smiled. "How interesting. He seems better."

Mifune smiled. "He'll be fine."

The weapons transformed and Stein began giving out directions. "Alright. Resonance with your partner or partners first then connect."

The girls obeyed, their souls' glow enveloping their bodies as wind picked up around them. Neo's was a purple color that was more blue than it was purple but still bright.

Stein stared. Witch Soul purple but the more blue tint was because of her father-who was a normal human.

Crona's was a bright magenta color that was made of bright pink and purple. This was due to Medusa and her mysterious father who they knew nothing about.

Artemis had a bright neon green soul. Human but like his and other's, a meister's powerful soul. Her sheer strength alone was impressive for a girl her age.

Crona, Neo and Artemis let their souls touch each others. Their singular resonances turned into one, huge resonance, white in color and including all of them.

Neo smiled, opening her eyes. Crona was right after and Artemis smirked instead of smiling. Mifune was completely mesmerized by this and Stein cocked his head. "Rough around the edges but it can be fixed. You all pass!"

They stopped their resonance and Neo grinned. "LET'S CELEBRATE! WE FINALLY DID IT!"

She, Lucas, Ragnarok and Artemis cheered loudly. Jonah chuckled, Matthew smiled and Crona giggled. The teachers watched them leave the clearing. "Well," Stein started, "they have the making of being incredibly powerful together."

Mifune looked to Stein. "If that's their Resonance Link now, I can't even imagine what it'd be like if they got more powerful."

Stein shrugged. "We'll be there to see it happen."

Mifune recalled his promise and smiled. "That we will."

* * *

Stein and Neo were running to the operation room, the soul in the box Neo clutching pulsing with life. She hoped that he'd live. That he'd be okay and that he'd be healthy. She hoped he'd finally get a shot at genuine happiness.

* * *

Neo's grin was tired as she gracelessly collasped into a chair. She had sweat on her forehead and she was only wearing a tank-top and her jeans, shoes and socks in another corner of the room.

"Well," her voice pierced the silence, "did it work?"

Stein was hovering over the unconcious body in the room which they had been so carefully working on. The person was barely breathing on the bed and Stein was checking his vital signs. He nodded. "Yep, he's okay."

Neo smiled to herself. "I honestly didn't expect him to turn out so handsome."

Stein shrugged. "Neo, you've been excused from class to take care of him. Crona will bring your work and Kim and Nygus will help. Do you thinkyou can handle it?"

She let out a breath. "Yeah." She snook a peak at him. "He better grateful."

Stein chuckled. "He won't admit it but he probably will be."

Neo grinned. "I can imagine."

She stood up and walked over to him. "When do you think he'll wake up?"

Stein let out a breath, grabbing his papers and filling a few out. "If on scheduele, three days. Your teammates are the only ones allowed in here. Got it?"

Neo nodded. "Don't worry. I shouldn't be leaving here and they can keep a secret."

Stein smiled at her. "Good."

She suddenly felt his madness distort and she fixed it as fast as she could, bending it so it wouldn't go out of proportion. She sighed. "I have to do this for days?"

Stein didn't look up. "Yes. I'd do it myself but I have classes to teach and you've been more exposed to his wavelength."

She pouted. "Hopefully, I won't die of boredom."

Stein smirked. "I doubt you will."

She licked her lips. "Maybe."

* * *

He moaned under his breath. Why did he feel so sore and why did he feel... naked?

The soreness was most noticeable in the center of his chest where his soul was and his limbs. He had the biggest headache in the universe. If this is what being drunk feels like then it'd better be worth it for it to hurt this much.

He didn't want to move. Breathing hurt. He groaned as the lights were turned on. If he could've, he would've yelled at the person to turn off the lights.

A voice made him freeze. "Oops! I guess the light hurts." The voice turned it off.

"I see you're finally awake, Ragnarok."

* * *

**Ooo... didn't see that coming, did you?**

**I feel so guilty! It's been over a month and I promised I'd update sooner. Then, Earth Science and English turned out to be a pain in the ass. Not to mention I was a procrastinator on my Science Fair project. **

**I think the scene with Mifune and Jonah is rushed but I don't know how to fix it. Thank you, lack of writing experience for doing that to me. Anyway, I hope to get another up soon. **

**Farewell, childrens!**


	10. The Surprise

**The Surprise: Wanna Play The Knife Game?**

* * *

Ragnarok wasn't making it easy for her.

He smirked when she rushed to fix his madness levels. "Tired?" he asked, his voice smooth and trying to seem innocent.

She sighed. "You have no idea."

He chuckled. "Let Stein take over."

She'd never left his side since he woke up. She even had her own little bed in the far side of the room. If she did, it was to go to the bathroom, to get him food or to speak to Nygus about his condition. Even he knew she was overworking herself.

Neo growled. "No! He put me here! And it's been a while since I've been bored. Ask me again when I'm bored out of my face!"

They'd been in there for about three days together while Ragnarok was awake. They had about four more days to go and a total of six days done in total. Crona, Jonah, Lucas, Artemis and Matthew often visited them and stayed until visiting hours were over.

They were the only ones other than Stein, Sid, Kim and Nygus who knew Ragnarok's current state.

No one knew anything other than that Neo wasn't going to be in class.

It was working incredibly well so far.

* * *

**Maka's POV **

Maka watched as Crona walked through the hallways to Jonah, grabbed his hand then walked away with him. That would make the fourth time this week that this happened. She didn't know where they went or why they were together. Crona had been so distracted lately that it worried her.

Maka trusted Jonah, sure, he was nice if a little emotionless but he was trustworthy to her. Keeping Neo's secret and not giving a single hint to knowing and dodging words when she was suspected, his loyalty unwavering.

But what were they doing that they didn't tell anyone?

Jonah stopped at the end of the hall to speak to her and she shook her head, averting her gaze. He sighed, leaning in and whispering into her ear... or skin, Maka was too far away to tell.

This thought alone filled her with rage. Who the hell was he to do that?

Crona's wavelength jolted nervously and she snatched his other hand, clutching it desperately. His wavelength was soothing as he consoled her with words. She nodded, letting go of one hand and leading him down the hallway. He let her and as they turned the corner, she noticed the soft smile on his face.

Maka's eyes grew wide.

No way.

Were they... dating?

She hid behind a pair of lockers, her olive eyes frozen in shock, her body stiff and her back pressed against the cool metal.

Why... why didn't she tell her? Was she a bad friend?

Were they hiding it?

Oh, what would they say if she found out?

She closed her eyes.

Was Jonah even good enough for her?

He was nice and all but what if he was crazy or a psycho... or a sadist?! Crona can barely deal with Ragnarok! How would Jonah work?

She let out a breath.

Wait, don't get ahead of yourself. There's a high chance he isn't.

But then again that chance was still there.

She looked around then followed them silently, far away enough for them not to notice her. They took almost random turns and twists. This made Maka anxious because she was positive Jonah had seen her at least once.

It's not like they were doing anything dangerous, right?

* * *

They (the entire team) somehow got permission to go to Neo, Lucas and Jonah's apartment to watch whatever they felt like watching. Ragnarok and Neo had never been so happy to breath fresh air. Neo had never been so happy to see sunshine. Sunlight irritated her sensitive eyes and she was like a vampire in that aspect. Ragnarok had never been so happy to see people. People hated him and he didn't like them either.

They were so happy to see the world after days of being cooped up in a single room with only each other. It wasn't that they didn't like each other. No, it was that their short attention spans couldn't handle it.

They were watcing the Discovery Planet on the television, a program on the Solar System. Artemis was sitting by herself on the armchair. Lucas and Jonah shared the Loveseat and the rest of them were on the couch.

Ragnarok was next to Neo who was on one end, next to Matthew with Crona sitting next to him on the other end. Lucas, Neo, Ragnarok and Artemis were being trolls to the program and Jonah was being tolerant enough to not say anything. Crona and Matthew didn't mind as long as they could hear it.

They were talking about the Sun and Lucas spoke when he heard them describe sunsots as blemishes. "Sun, you better put on some zit cream!"

Jonah rolled his eyes and that marked the beginning of the trolling.

When they mentioned the Sun spun at different speeds at the top and at the middle, Artemis made a comment. "The Sun does that because he smokes weed."

They didn't have many jokes on mercury but they had a very large amount on Venus.

Neo made the first. "Venus, you are a drunk motherfucker."

Ragnarok raised an eyebrow. "How?"

Neo grinned. "Because Venus is almost completely upside down, it spins backwards and has a very slow orbit. Lay off the Vodka!" The last sentence was said in a poorly done Russian accent.

Lucas rolled his eyes, clearing his throat and repeating it, his voice in her pitch and Russian accent impeccable. "Lay off the Vodka!" He repeated before going back to his own voice with a grin. "That's how it should sound, sweetie."

Neo only growled and Jonah cracked a small smile while the rest stared at him. Ragnarok cocked his head. "What... just happened?"

Lucas smirked. "I'm a mimic. When I got bored, I mimicked the sounds of animals or people. I watch a lot of TV so I get lots of accents. I worked really hard on the Russian 'cause I'm not Russian or have any trace of it that I know of. It took a while but I got it. To be a troll, I like to say things that the people I'm mimicking would never say.

Artemis grinned. "Really... Do Crona!"

Lucas nodded and closed his eyes. "Oh my god! I was at the park yesterday and I saw this bitch. Now this bitch was wratched. Like beyond fucking wratched to the point in where she was like the goddess of wratched. So this bitch walks up to me and she's like 'Move out the way'. And I'm like 'Bitch, why is you telling me shit? I don't know you!' Then I flipped her off and walked away and saw a unicorn."

Neo was laughing while Jonah shook his head with a small grin. Ragnarok cheered, clapping. "That was beautiful."

Crona was blushing with huge eyes. She would never say that but if she didn't know any better, she would've thought she did.

Jonah sighed. "Stop cursing, please."

Lucas smiled. "Sure."

Matthew cocked his head. "How come you let Neo curse but not him?"

Neo grinned. "I'm beyond saving. Lucas still has a chance though."

They kept making planet jokes until they all had to leave. Ragnarok and Neo to the infirmary and the rest to their respective homes.

Neo and Ragnarok sighed together.

Another few days trapped. Yippee.

* * *

Maka could barely concentrate as she worked on her assignment, taking longer on one answers than she would on five of them. Kid watched her from the corner of his eye and he noticed that she hadn't gone forward from her question.

A small pucker appeared between is eyebrows when a minute later, she still was staring at her paper. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Maka, are you okay?"

She sat up, startled and looked at him. "What?"

He cracked a small smile but suppressed it fast enough so she didn't notice. "Are you okay?" he repeated.

She smiled. "I'm fine. Why?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? You haven't even passed this question yet and this is something even Blackstar always gets right."

She looked down, a little ashamed. He sighed, moving his hand. "Come on. You can tell me. What's on your mind?"

She looked at him suspiciously. "How can you tell I'm thinking?"

He rolled his eyes. "Your eyes get really unfocused and it's obvious you aren't paying attention. You'd be basically done if you weren't so distracted. What's wrong?"

She bit down on her bottom lip. Should she tell him? Kid was a friend of both Crona and Jonah, right? And he could keep a secret. He's always been trustworthy...

She gave into her thoughts. "Kid, have yo noticed anything weird with Crona lately? That isn't symmetry related?"

The reaper pursed his lips then nodded. "She seems a little... distant. More than usual anyway. Come to think of it, Lucas and Jonah are acting rather odd as well. Though that could just be that their meister isn't with them."

Maka looked around before leaning in. He did so as well and she let out a breatj. "I found something really... unexected about Crona and Jonah."

Kid looked skeptical. "What?"

She moved to his ear and whispered what was on her mind. "I think they might be dating," the last word was said timidly and barely audible but Kid still picked it up.

He leaned back, a cocked eyebrow on a face of sheer disbelief and incredulity. "Are you sure?"

She stomped her foot a little, exasperated. "Yes!" she nearly yelled. She lowered her voice. "They've been sneaking off together a lot lately. I've seen it! And she hasn't mentioned it at all. They're both acting weird!"

He sighed. "Did you ever just think he's helping her with something? Or that they're meeting someone else?"

Maka stared at him unblinkingly. "Then why hasn't she told me?"

He sat back in his chair, his back perfectly parallel to it. "She doesn't have to tell you everything. Have you told her you know this?"

Maka stopped moving, her eyes wide and guilty. She shook her head, choking out a soft "No".

Kid smiled reassuringly, his hand on her shoulder. "Just because she hasn't told you doesn't mean she doesn't trust you. Friends trust each other. Give her time. She'll tell you eventually."

She nodded and smiled weakly.

_Then why am I so worried?_

* * *

Maka had gotten Kid to her side when she proved to him that Jonah and Crona may have been dating. Lucas himself had told them that he was just jittery because yes, his meister was not near him and he hadn't seen her in days.

Two days to be exact.

And in that time a rumor spread. The rumor of a weapon-meister pair who had gone off for an extra-credit mission and when they came back were so injured that they hadn't left the infirmary in days.

Some even said that it was a female meister and a male weapon with the male weapon having to stay there for a longer amount of time.

This alone was enough for the two of them to begin an investigation on their friends. Why?

Because there's a high chance they had something to do with it.

* * *

Maka and Kid were walking randomly through the halls of the DWMA after another school day. Kid sighed. "Maka, we've got nothing on Neo or Crona and Jonah? What do we do now?"

Their investigation was turning out to be difficult.

Artemis didn't even know anything, Matthew knew less than she did and Lucas didn't really keep tabs on his brother. Asking Crona and Jonah was out of the question and Neo had seemingly disappeared. They didn't have anything other than Neo wasn't going to be in school.

Maka pouted. "I thought we'd be better at this than Soul and Blackstar."

Kid laughed humorlessly. "Sadly, it's not. And the last time what they were investigating was about me."

The sound of a person crashing against a locker made them stop talking. They stopped walking as the person cursed loudly. "Shit! When the hell did that get there? Ugh, I'm so tired."

Maka's eyes grew wide. 'Neo?' she mouthed.

They went around the corner silently to check who the loud, decidedly female voice belonged to. Kid froze while Maka smiled to herself. Yes, indeed. There she was.

She had lately changed her outfit to something brighter. She wore a tye-dyed, sleeveless shirt with the colors of yellow, orange and dark hot pink, an evergreen sash around her hips and a bright turquoise scarf in her hair. Her jeans' style, jewelry and hairstyle stayed the same. Her worn converse stayed in place while her sleeveless hoodie turned into a long-sleeved one colored dark blue.

But she lacked the sash, scarf and most of the jewelry at the moment

Her movements were slow and sluggish, her eyes not really seeing with bags under them. She looked skinnier somehow and Maka couldn't see her face.

As they approached cautiously, she exchanged her books. She closed the locker and turned to them. Neo looked at them, lidded eyes blinking blearily. A pang of sympathy and worry surged through her. What made her so tired? She looked less... healthy.

She slumped more, her round cheeks hollowed a little, she looked more fragile as well. Like if she pulled them in for a hug, she'd shatter. But the spirit in her wide, dark eyes didn't fade. In fact, it had seemed to grown stronger.

She yawned, her tongue sticking out like a cat's as her arms stretched forward, her back going convex a little. Maka never noticed how feline she was with her exotic eyes and easy, effortless grace even if she tripped more often than not.

She smiled tiredly. "Hey, guys. Been a while, eh?"

Her tone was friendly but her voice was huskier and raspier. Kid recovered first, smiling back. "It has. Where have you been?"

The girl shrugged. "Around. I need a nap. I'm so tired."

They could see it in her face and actions. Maka smiled weakly. "We've been so worried! You haven't answered any calls."

Neo answered. "My phone died and I'm too lazy to, you know, actually charge it because I'm lazy."

Kid cocked his head. "Couldn't you have Lucas or Jonah it?"

Neo froze. "That... would be smart. Oh well. Too late. Maybe I'll do it later. I don't know."

Neo smiled. "So, how are you guys doin'? Good, right?"

Maka nodded once more. "Yes."

Kid pressed her for more information. "Where have you been for the past week?"

Neo sighed. "Why are you intruding in my personal space?" she asked, her wide, exressive eyes hiding a quiet anger.

Kid and Maka were taken aback by her sudden change in attitude. er voice was smooth and nonchalant but her words said otherwise.

Kid bowed an apology. "Sorry, we know we're intruding but we're worried. Please tell us."

Neo's eyes filled with tears. "Stop. Please I can't take this."

Her voice turned breathless and choked. Maka felt very... weird. She'd never really had someone who changed moods as quickly and drastically as Neo did just now. She turned to leave but Kid didn't buy it, grabbing her wrist to stop her fomr leaving. "You can't fool me."

She became bored, her face blank from emotion. "What do you want? I have to be somewhere."

Maka realized what she was doing. Her moodswings were on purpose. Because she did them often, she knew they'd leave her be until she said she was better. She was trying to get away from them and they couldn't even find her out.

Kid, who had recently gone through a growth spurt, made her look smaller than she already was. Maka stared at her in disbelief. "Why are you hiding? We're your friends. You don't need to."

Neo's eyes focused on Kid's face. Their eyes burned holes into each other and Maka noticed a weird similarity in the way they did it. Eyes not betraying emotions or faltering for a second.

She spoke evenly. "Friends are supposed to respect you and your space. Every person is entitled this. Why are you fighting me for it? Do I get into yours?"

Kid let go of her right after and she flashed him a brilliant smile. "Thanks, Kiddie!"

She pecked his forehead, waved to Maka and walked away as her sleepiness came back. When she left the hallway, Maka stomped her foot in exasperation. "How did she do that?!"

Kid stared in the direction the witch had left in. "She's a lot more clever than we gave her credit for. No wonder she gets along wit Artemis so well. She's not as innocent as she leads us to believe."

Maka did the same, her arms across her chest. "If she won't tell us then we'll ave to find someone who does. And if I'm right, there's one person who does."

* * *

Stein sighed. "No, I don't know where she's been. May I ask why you're asking?"

Maka's face revealed her worry. "She acted weird when we saw her."

Stein chuckled knowingly. "She's fine. When she's tired, she gets moody and sensitive. Jonah warned me about this. I forgot to mention it because I knew already."

Maka understood immediately. "Oh, I see."

At that moment, smeone knocked on the door and a voice called. "Professor Stein! Can I come in?"

Stein smiled. "Come in."

She walked in, closing the door behind us. Her responsive smile was shy. "I'm here to get their homework."

Stein gestured to a pile of folders on his desk. She waved to Kid and Maka as she went to pick them up. Maka smiled back. "Hi, Crona? Who's homework are you delivering?"

Crona faltered for the slightest second and Stein answered for her. "The students in the nurse's office."

Maka and Kid were alert momentarily. So, the rumors were true.

Kid spoke when she picked them up. "It's true then."

Crona nodded. "Yes. I have to go now. See you guys later."

Maka saw a way to ask her about Jonah. "Do you need help?"

Crona, who was opening the door, looked startled when she saw the blonde right next to her. "Sorry but do you?"

Crona shook her head. "No. I've got i-"

Maka took a couple of the folders anyway. "I insist!"

The pinkette hesitated, accepting reluctantly. "Uh... alright."

Maka waved to Kid, winking secretively. "See ya later Kid, Professor Stein."

Kid waved back with a tiny smile as they left.

Crona led the way as they walked in companiable silence. Maka noticed the familiar route easily. They were indeed going to the nurse's office.

About three-quarters of the way there, they ran into Jonah. Crona smiled almost brightly. "Hello, Jonah."

He turned at her voice, offering a soft smile. "Crona. Maka. It's nice to see you." His eyes focused on the folders. "Going to the infirmary, I see. How are they?"

Crona didn't hesitate to answer. "Better. I'm so happy they are."

Jonah looked satisfied. "Good. May I accompany you girls?"

They nodded and he walked next to Crona over Maka. Maka decided to use this time. "So, Crona, is there anyone you like?"

Crona blushed in response. Contrary to popular belief, she knew what it was. Artemis and Ragnarok had spared no details. "No. Of course not."

Maka smirked mentally. She's lying. "Not anyone?" Crona shook her head. "What about you Jonah? Anyone you fancy?" she asked, finishing in a bad English accent.

He rolled his eyes, a smile on his lips. "No. It's not like I really have time for a relationship anyway."

She instinctively glared at him. "What? You too good for any girls?"

Jonah raised an eyebrow at the sudden hostility. "No. II have to take care of my brother, meister and a five-year-old while balancing a job and school added in with the occasional mission. What time would I have to dedicate to a girl? I would barely spend time with her anyway."

Maka averted her eyes embarrassedly. She had judged him too harshly. He wasn't her father even if they had similar hair colors.

Maka cleared her throat. "I'm sorry."

Jonah smiled. "No worries. You compared me to your dad for a moment. I heard about him so... yes, I know."

Maka shuddered to herself. This is what they meant by Jonah can read minds.

They made it to the nurse's office without anything like that happening. Crona smiled. "Thank you for coming, Maka. I don't need your help anymore."

Maka smiled weakly. "Oh, okay. Is the weapon-meister pair really here?"

Jonah nodded. "Yes. Maka, don't you have to meet up with Soul today?"

Maka shook her head. "Nope. But Kid and I have to study."

Jonah took the folders from her. "So, why don't you go? Wouldn't want to keep him waiting."

She would've bought it if it were anyone but him. "Why should I? Hiding something?"

Jonah looked surprised. "Why would I hide anything? And from you no less?"

Maka caught him. "Exactly. Why would you? A secret you wouldn't want anyone to find out. Why don't you confess?"

Crona moved in between them. "Guys, calm down. You could wake the patients."

Jonah looked at her for a second before he backed away, his eyes trained on Maka. Maka looked at her. "Why are you defending him? He said he had nothing to hide. Why won't he tell me?"

Crona tried to appease her. "Maybe it's not what you think."

Maka didn't back down. "What if it's exactly what I think?"

Crona smiled. "Then you're a good guesser."

Maka wasn't looking at her anymore. She was looking at Jonah. "Confess."

Jonah sucked on his teeth. "What exactly?"

Maka glared at him freely. "Confess! Why the hell won't you admit that you like her?! What are you a fucking coward?! YOU DON'T DESERVE HER!"

Jonah didn't even think when he sprang forward, shoving her into a wall, pinning her wrists above her head. "Who don't I deserve!? Who won't I confess to?! What are you talking about?" His voice changed from hysterical to calm once more.

She froze under his fierce glare. His eyes were colored amber now. She hadn't felt so scared in so long. Not since Soul was injured fighting Crona or Crona in fighting Medusa.

She barely stuttered out her answer before she gained her resolve and she answered in a clear voice. "Crona. Aren't you dating her?"

Jonah furrowed his eyebrows and let her go. He sighed. "I don't want to know. Tell them I said hi and that I have to try not to throw up from such a ludicrous suggestion."

Crona only nodded as he left the room. Maka looked at her. "What do you see in him?"

Crona sighed. "Nothing. We aren't dating Maka. He's been teaching me how to draw and we're friends with the patients. Maka, what did you think we were doing?"

Maka blushed in embarrassment. "I thought... I..."

Crona smiled. "You could've just asked. I didn't know that's what you thought."

A tiny figure walked out of a room. "Hey, Crona. I heard you were-Maka?"

Neo was there and Crona froze. Maka stared. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

Maka nodded. "Oh, I get it. But then... who's in there?"

Neo had explained why she was in there in the first place and Maka apologized for her behavior. She had no idea that Neo was so willing to help someone else.

Neo smiled. "Why don't you find out yourself?"

Maka looked at it. "Can't you come with me? For a while?"

Neo giggled. "Sure. Follow me."

Maka walked in cautiously behind the witch, her mind buzzing with curiosity and dread. She immediately noticed the rather large figure in a hoodie sitting on the hospital bed hooked up to an IV.

Nep walked over to the figure fearlessly, sitting by their side with a smile. "I brought a visitor. Maka."

Neo looked tiny in comparison. It was almost comical.

The figure nodded. "I noticed," they replied, voice too deep to be a girl's, rich and smooth. Honestly, one of the best voices she'd ever heard.

Neo grinned sleepily. "Whatever. I'm gonna get something to eat. Want anything?"

He chuckled. "Really?"

Neo approached the door with a saucy two-fingered salute. "But of course."

She left, leaving Maka with him. A second later, Maka picked up the berserk madness near her only to feel it decrease in no time to a wavelength where the person only had dominant madness.

He didn't even react.

Maka shifted uncomfortably now that Neo was gone. The figure cocked his head. "Why are you here yesterday?" he asked bluntly.

The blonde licked her lips. "I... I just wanted to see where she was. She hasn't been in school."

She could feel his gaze on her. "Do you even know who I am? Or did you just come without thinking?"

Her cheeks burned scarlet against her will. "So?"

She could hear the smirk in his voice. "Don't you want to know? I bet it's killing you right now."

She didnt say anything but he saw her answer in her eyes. He pulled off his hood and threw his hoodie across the room. Her eyes widened in shock. He was so... handsome.

Pitch black hair that flopped over his forehead, skin so pale and flawless she was debating on whether or not he was made of porcelain with a familiar slight gray tinge. He was muscular and lean, about the age of Liz, Jonah and Tsubaki. Judging from how he looked on the bed, he was incredibly tall. His features were angular with very few exceptions like his full lips. He had the inkling of an air of royalty.

He wore a black t-shirt and white finger less gloves with black lines. That's all she could see.

His most noticeable features were his eyes.

A piercing steel gray that gave him the look of seeing right through her soul, framed by dark lashes.

Somehow, he was familiar. She didn't know how or why but he did. Who did he remind her off?

He smirked. "Like whatcha see?"

She scoffed, putting her arms across her chest and looking away, failing to hide her blushing face. "No."

He snorted. "Of course not. Miss Skinny Bitch doesn't date."

She brought out her trusty book-why she hadn't thought of using it to defend herself from Jonah, she'd never know-and moved it back to hit him. "Maka... chop?"

She faltered at the end when he caught it effortlessly. He looked at her from under his eyelashes. "Still don't recognize me? You're stupider than you look."

She was outraged. She didn't even know him. What did he have against her?

He tsked mockingly, moving his hand. "Wow. You're really dense. Fine, feel my wavelength. Then tell me you don't know me."

She rolled her eyes but complied, activating her Soul Resonance. She quickly tuned in on his soul.

Dormant madness, his wavelength naturally random and slightly out of control... and incredibly familiar.

She froze, her eyes snapping open. "Ragnarok?"

He grinned, his face devilishly handsome. "Bingo. So you aren't completely hopeless."

She could only stare. This handsome, familiar stranger... was Crona's ass of a weapon? The bastard that bullied her all the time.

It wasn't right that he looked like this when he was such a jackass.

He let out a bored breath as he leaned against the bed post. "Is this all you came for?"

Maka glared. "Yes. Good day."

She went to the door and he sighed. "Wait."

She looked at him, eyes hard. "What?"

He licked his lips. "I'm sorry... Wanna play the Knife Game?"

Maka's mouth dropped in horror. That stupid game that seemed to be a new trend?

She growled. "No!"

He laughed at her reaction. "I didn't think so. Now, scram, Miss Albarn. Good girls like you shouldn't be around scum like me." he said teasingly.

Neo strolled in. "Hello. Ragnarok, I've got food!"

She saw Maka standing there and she smiled. "Oh, hey. I thought you'd still be here so," Neo put a cookie in her hand happily.

Ragnarok held out his hand as Neo placed one in hers. He smirked. "I just asked her to play the Knife Game with me just now. She was too busy staring at how awesome I look to answer."

Neo smiled while Maka glared at him. "He's lying."

Neo shrugged. "I know. But I believe that he's gorgeous and he probably did ask you to play that game with you. To be honest, you'll probably to better than me. The girl who barely made it past her thumb."

Maka shook her head with a smile. "I doubt it. I have to go. Gotta go study with Kid."

Neo waved as Maka opened the door. "Don't tell anyone but Soul will you. We want it to be a surprise."

Maka only nodded, smiling back. "Sure."

Neo waved. "Later."

Maka nodded. "See you."

* * *

**Happy Two Month Anniversary!**

**... I am a horrible person. I suck, I know I do. This was kind of hard to write and keep Maka in character. It's rushed but I wanted to get it done. I swear that I will update faster next time. **

**If I don't I will personally play the Knife Game and like Neo, I stabbed into my thumb using a pencil. Trust me, I will. **

**Ragnarok, I think, is out of character but then again, I suck at writing him. Why? Because I can only see the good in him and my own headcanon doesn't help either.**

**I hate the scene with Jonah and Maka but I needed to move things along. I know I lack details and it sucks but I was doing Earth Science at the same time I wrote lots of this. **

**I could list off all the reasons why I am late with this but other than my own procrastination, school and entertaining my cousins who visited for a week and a half collectively. **

**I hope none of you hate me and keep reading this!**

**Later, doll faces!**


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